


Speak To Me

by GracieHoltzbertTrash715



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-02-05 20:43:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 73,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12801990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GracieHoltzbertTrash715/pseuds/GracieHoltzbertTrash715
Summary: "Polly felt the babies kick for the first time and Mom came rushing into the living room to feel them with a smile. She was so so happy and then Polly called for Dad. The moment he stepped into the room, my mother's smile vanished and she went right back into the kitchen." / Something's up with Betty's parents. Can she deal with more family secrets? / Rated M for language , etc.





	1. Something's Up

“Don’t.”

“What?” Betty asked her boyfriend in their regular booth at Pop’s Chock-litt shop.

Jughead took hold of both of her hands. “You’re doing it again.” He looked down at the girl’s bleeding palms. He reached for a napkin from the end of the table near the window and pressed it to the inside of her hands. 

Betty sighed. “Sometimes I don’t even realize that I’m doing it.” She said quietly beside him.

“Doing what?” Veronica asked with a peppy grin as she and Archie joined them on the other side of the booth.

“Nothing. It’s just a little habit I’ve developed when I’m stressed. It’s okay.” Betty Cooper said convincingly, pulling her hands out of Jughead’s grip to squeeze the napkins herself.

“Stress?” Archie chimed in, setting down his own girlfriend’s milkshake for her.

“What’s going on?” Veronica wondered, back-packing off of Archie.

“Nothing. Really. I just think I’m a little overwhelmed with everything that’s been going on with school and the newspaper lately.”

“This is not the same Betty we all knew a few weeks ago. The one who refused to take a break from all of her schoolwork duties even when we told her to. Really. What’s wrong? Spill.” Ronnie let her Lodge persistence show.

Elizabeth sighed. “I’m just a little concerned about things at home.”

“What’s up? Is Polly okay? How are the babies?” Archie wondered.

“The babies are fine. Polly’s good. No. It’s just….” The blonde took a deep breath and fiddled with the napkin in her hand. “Something’s going on with my parents lately.” It was silent for a moment while Archie and Ronnie looked around at each other and Betty eventually noticed. “What?” She wondered. No one answered. “What?” She repeated with force.

“Um….don’t take this wrong way…” Veronica sweetly chuckled. “But I kind of always feel like something’s going on with your parents.” Archie joined her in a small laugh.

“No. Guys, I’m serious. I’m really concerned.”

“We’re sorry, Betty.” Archie immediately frowned.

“Really.” Veronica grew serious as well. “We didn’t mean to laugh...What’s happening at home?”

“I mean...it really could just be nothing. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just paranoid now that things are quiet and I’m just waiting for something shocking to drop itself into my lap once again. But I have a pretty strong feeling that something’s up and lately...my feelings have been right.”

“Well, what is it, babe?” Jug put his right arm around her shoulders, looking at her with compassion.

“They hardly speak to each other anymore. The other day Polly felt the babies kick for the first time and Mom came rushing into the living room to feel them with a smile. She was so so happy and then Polly called for Dad. The moment he stepped into the room, my mother’s smile vanished and she went right back into the kitchen. Then yesterday….Dad came home from work alone and when I asked where Mom was...he said he had no clue. This morning I woke up and went downstairs for breakfast. Polly AND Dad both asked me if I knew where Mom was, because she was supposed to take Polly to her doctor’s appointment, but no one could get ahold of her.” Betty stopped speaking for a second as she reached over Jughead for a new napkin. “We were calling her over and over and she wouldn’t answer any of our texts. Then all of a sudden she walks in with a grin as if nothing happened and she hadn’t just disappeared without a word.”

“Did she say where she’d been?” Archie asked.

“She told us that she just needed to go for a little drive.”

“You don’t believe her?” Jug wondered.

“I don’t know. It was so weird.” Betty responded with a look of confusion. “She didn’t say a word to Dad and she just grabbed Polly and left for the appointment. What the hell could be going on?”

“Is there anything else suspicious?” Veronica took a sip of her shake.

“Yes. Very! Sometimes she comes in with a smile….and sometimes she seems like she could just break down and cry at any given moment. It’s like she’s been possessed by some bipolar spirit or something. I don’t even know. It’s starting to get really weird. Like she’s two different people.”

“Maybe she started seeing a Therapist.” Veronica suggested with a shrug. “She could have some type of depression and whenever she sees her shrink she all of a sudden feels better.”

“Okay. But what about the stuff with my dad?” 

“Maybe it’s something to do with your brother?” Jughead added in.

“That’s possible.” Betty said with uncertainty.

“Have they been fighting at all? Have you overheard them arguing at night or anything?” Veronica wondered.

“No.” The concerned teen shook her head.

“I think you should just keep an open ear and try your very best not to worry until you hear or notice anything more suspicious. When did all of this start?” Jug wondered.

“About two weeks ago or so?” She guestimated.

“Yeah. I’d give it some more time before you jump to any type of conclusion.” Ronnie said.

“Maybe it’s just a little lover’s spat.” Jughead put a comforting hand on her leg.

“A two week long spat?” Archie asked.

“It happens.” Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third responded.

“Yeah.” Veronica squeezed her boyfriend’s bicep beside her. “Once Mommy and Daddy got into a fight and they didn’t talk or even look at each other for almost a month.” 

“Seriously?” The redhead raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah. Daddy slept in the guest room until they made up.” She took another sip of the chocolate shake in front of her. “Still to this day, I have no idea what their fight was about. But it must’ve been something pretty serious. My dad loved their Baldacchino Supreme bed...It was almost six million dollars.” She drank her shake as if the other three didn’t stare at her in amazement. “And for him to not sleep in it for a whole month…”

“Six million dollars for a bed?” Jughead Jones repeated.

“Mhm.” The brunette nodded.

Trying to shake off the astounding price, Betty returned to their original topic. “Okay...so I guess I’ll keep my eyes peeled for anything else? I hope you’re right. With everything that’s going on right now with Polly and the babies...I’m not sure ANY of us have the energy to deal with a divorce.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s nothing that serious, Betty.” Jughead spoke up, hoping to comfort her as he kissed one of her hands.

“And even if it is...we’ll all be here for you.” Archie assured her and she gave them all a grateful smile before they changed the subject to a cheerful topic.


	2. Cravings

*Two Days Later*

Betty sat on her bed after school, texting Jughead about his day on the South side when she heard her name being called from downstairs. “Betty?” Polly’s voice rang throughout the house.

“What is it, Poll?” She yelled back.

“Could you come down here for a second? I need your help.” The oldest of the two responded.

“Be right there!” Betty spoke as she stood from her bed, pulling her shirt down before heading for the door. She made her way down the stairs, looking around for her big sister. “Where are you?”

“I’m in the kitchen.”

Betty turned the corner where she saw a very pregnant Polly attempting to reach for something she had dropped on the floor. “Oh! I got it.” Betty rushed to her side and bent down, picking up the spoon.

“Ugh! Thank you.” Polly chuckled. “I can’t wait to be able to do things for myself again.” Betty giggled and put the spoon in the sink, grabbing a clean one for Poll who happily took it and continued to enjoy her bowl of ice cream with peanut butter. “Hey, how was school today?”

“Fine, I guess.” The youngest shrugged, leaning her elbows against the island counter in the center of the kitchen. “School is school.”

“Yeah...I actually miss it.”

“Like I’ve said before...you can come back. Maybe after you have the babies.” Betty suggested. “There’s that really cute day care center on Pleasant Drive who can take them during the day.”

“I guess. I feel like I’d miss them too much though.”

“Well, it’ll be the same for when you get a job.”

“True.” Polly put another spoonful of Moose Tracks in her mouth before Betty reached for a grape from the fruit bowl on the counter and popped it into her mouth. “So, are you hanging out with any of your friends today?”

“Later I’m supposed to meet Jughead at Pop’s. Why? You wanna come?”

“I don’t know. Should I?” Polly asked.

“Yes. Polly you’ve been cooped up in this house for months. It’d be good for you to start getting out more.” Betty stood straight up and took another grape before sending her sister a small smile.

“I guess I’ve just been afraid of facing people in ‘my condition,’ as Mom would call it.” She looked down with a hint of sadness. “Sometimes I feel like people are judging me.”

“Polly, no one’s judging you.” The front door of the house opened and Hal Cooper walked in, setting his coat down on the table beside the door and hanging up his keys on the wall. “You just feel that way because of Mom and-” She stopped when she saw her father entering the kitchen.

“Hi, Daddy.” Polly said before putting some more ice cream in her mouth.

“Hey, sweetie.” He said to her across from the counter before putting an arm around Betty and kissing her on the cheek. “How are you girls?”

“I’m okay.” Betty responded.

“Good.” Polly smiled down at her snack. “I think we’re gonna need some more ice cream soon though.”

“Again?” He faked a dramatic sigh. “Is the peanut butter almost gone too?”

“Mmmm...maybe?” His oldest daughter answered.

“Man. I forgot how fast food goes in a house with a pregnant woman.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe I did it so many times with your mother.”

“Dad. Ew.” Betty fought back a smile.

“Not that, Elizabeth!” Hal stepped over to the fridge. “I meant dealing with her when she was pregnant.” He pulled out a can of soda before standing beside Polly, both facing Betty on the other side.

“She must’ve been a nightmare.” Betty assumed, taking another grape.

“No. No, she wasn’t at all actually.” He opened the can, taking a sip.

“She wasn’t?” The youngest replied.

“No.” He shook his head with a smile. “She had plenty of cravings, I’ll tell you that. But, no. She was oddly sweet when she was pregnant. And she cried...all the time. At the dumbest things.” He laughed, taking another sip.

“Like what?” Polly wondered with a smile.

“Well, dogs for one. Anytime she saw one, boom! Tears!” They all laughed. “And, for some reason, certain smells would get her.”

“Certain smells?” Betty looked to Polly with indifference.

“Yeah. I wasn’t allowed to wear Calvin Klein cologne. She would just break down.” He and Polly laughed once more as Betty thought to herself about how she wished she could’ve known her mother back then.

“Dad.” Betty finally spoke up. “Where IS Mom?”

Hal’s smile slowly disappeared and he shrugged, taking another sip. “I don’t know. She left the Register like, half an hour before I did. I thought she’d be here by now. She should be here soon.”

Instinctively, Betty turned to look toward the front door over her shoulder while Hal changed the subject to Polly’s cravings once again. The youngest stared at the door for a while as if she’d will her mother home, but the door never opened.

“What do you say, Betty?” Hal asked, snapping her out of her own thoughts.

“Hm? What?” She turned to look back at them, missing most of the conversation.

“What were you thinking for dinner?” Her dad repeated.

“Mmm...I’m not sure. I’m meeting Jug at Pop’s later actually.”

“Really?” He sounded disappointed. “I swear you haven’t had a single day without that boy since you began dating. You barely spend time with US anymore.” He and Polly chuckled.

“That’s not even true, Dad.” Betty sounded irritated suddenly. “And even if I haven’t...excuse me for not wanting to participate in annoying family drama.” She took one more grape and sent her father a glare before leaving.

“Betty, I was just-” Hal tried to coax her back, but failed as she ran up the stairs to return to her bedroom. He turned to look at Polly who sighed with her spoon in her mouth and they both shook their heads, unaware of what her problem was lately.

 

**_A/N: Hey, guys! I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving has a good one! Here’s another chapter...I know it’s a bit short, but I’m trying to rush so I can spend time with family today. This story is starting out a bit slow, but I promise things will pick up soon. And...just so everyone knows, this fic will be based in an AU where the Black Hood never became a thing and everyone just went on with their lives after Cliff Blossom was caught for Jason’s murder. Thank you for reading and I’ll try to get a new chapter up as soon as possible! Love you guys! MWAH!_ **


	3. A Hole In The Wall

Alice Cooper, neé Smith, had finally made her way into the driveway of the home she kept with her husband Hal and her daughters, Polly and Elizabeth. She turned the car off, taking the keys out of the ignition with a sigh. Looking up into the mirror, she cocked her head to the side. Switching the keys from her right hand to her left hand, she set them inside her coat pocket and lifted her purse from the center console, placing it into her lap. She slowly unzipped it and searched for one of her makeup remover wipes. She had always kept a small pack of them in her purse in case she had any makeup mishaps. Her constant need to look and seem presentable had begun to overtake her as a whole other person from the person she used to be before moving to the North side and conforming.

After finally taking hold of a wipe, she rubbed underneath and beside her eyes, clearing away any smudged eyeliner or mascara. When she finished, she set the towelette inside her pocket and grabbed the extra mascara in her purse to fix her eyelashes. When she finally zipped her purse back up, she stared one more time at her reflection in the mirror before looking to the front door of the house...HER house. Something in her stomach churned. She'd never felt such a thing before. Going inside would only make her, already quite unstable, emotions flutter even more. She loved her family so much. She had worked so hard to get such a great one. But that empty space inside of her had always been there. Long ago she had patched it up like a hole in a wall, eventually forgetting about it as time went on and the patch had been ruined once again.

This time, the patch had been poked through as well as creating an even larger hole...and a harder one to fill. She had a family now. Hurting any of them hurt her just to think about it.

With another sigh, she looked at herself in the mirror once more. "What are you doing, Alice?" She asked herself before finally opening the door and heading to the front porch. Once she made it to the door, she stopped before going in and plastered a large, fake smile upon her face. "Good evening, Coops!" She said loud enough for the whole house to hear with a hint of a jolly tone.

Polly sat on one of the couches in the living room, reading a book on motherhood. She looked to Alice with a grin. "Hi, Mom."

"Hey, baby." Alice set her keys down on the table beside the door. She glared at Hal's jacket upon it, not knowing how many times she had told him not to leave his jacket there. Not wanting to upset Polly or the babies, she rolled her eyes and shook her head, letting it go for once. "How've you been today? Any acid reflux?" She began to unbutton her own jacket.

Polly shook her head. "Not today."

"That's good. Good." After removing her coat, she placed it and Hal's over her forearm. "Where's your father and your sister?" She wondered, taking the makeup wipe out of her coat pocket.

"In their rooms, I think." The 17 year old dog-eared the page she was on and set the book on the table beside her. "What's that?" She looked to the wipe in her mother's hand.

"Oh. Nothing. Just one of my makeup wipes. Has anyone had dinner?" She slowly started for the kitchen, waiting for Polly to respond.

"Not yet."

"Any cravings for anything tonight?" Alice asked in a cheerful tone, heading into the next room, placing hers and Hal's coats on the hooks in the hall. She threw the wipe in the trash the moment she entered the kitchen.

"Mmmm...I don't know. I've mostly been craving sweets today." Poll yelled to Alice.

"Ohhhhh. A sweet day, huh?" Mrs. Cooper opened and closed the fridge before checking the freezer for anything to eat.

"Polly, have you seen my-" Hal walked down the last step when he noticed his wife was finally home. He gazed at her while she closed the nearly empty freezer.

"Would've been nice if you had made dinner, Hal." Alice spoke the first sentence between the two in almost three weeks.

"And how would I have done that with barely any food in the house, Alice?" He retorted, walking further into the kitchen.

"Why didn't you make a grocery run?" She placed her left hand on her hip as she widened her stance.

"Why didn't YOU?" He snapped back. "After all, you were gone for nearly two hours...you could've stopped somewhere on the way home from wherever it was you were." Hal pointed out.

"Guys, please don't fight." Polly struggled to stand from her seat in the living room and she joined them on the other side of the island counter. "Okay? The reason we have no food is because I'm pregnant and eat everything. Alright? It's my fault. Maybe I'll cut back on what I eat until the babies are born."

"That's nonsense." Hal looked to the youngest in the room.

"No one's saying that you need to cut back, Polly. What I AM saying is that maybe your lovely father wouldn't mind grabbing the groceries every once in awhile. Just because I'm the wife and I'm the mother and I basically do everything around here, it doesn't mean that dear old Hal doesn't have to pick up some slack, too!" Alice's attention was slightly stolen as she looked to Betty who had just joined the room amidst the commotion.

"What's going on?" Betty wondered, not actually wanting to know the answer. Based off of her mother's stance, her father's posture, and her sister's expression...she could tell that a fight had finally broken the two-week-long silence between her parents.

"Oh, the usual." Alice began with a sarcastic tone. "Your father and I are fighting...again. About some stupid shit."

"It's not some stupid shit, Alice! Where were you after work today, huh?" Hal crossed his arms over his chest. "And we both know the reason I didn't pick up the groceries was because you never let me! You and your OCD, controlling bullshit prevents me from ever contributing to the chores around here."

"Well...if you'd do them right-"

"Mom!" Betty sneared.

"I'm sorry. It's true." Alice's right hand rested on the counter beside her and she never broke eye contact with her husband.

"You don't mean that." Polly added, trying to keep the peace.

"Guys...can we please, just...calm down?" Betty asked quietly. "Polly doesn't need to hear this right now."

"I'm fine, Betty."

"No. You're not fine." The youngest Cooper looked to her big sister. "Stress is not good for the babies and it's not really a big deal anyway." She looked back at her parents. "I can just go pick up some groceries tomorrow and we could all go eat at Pop's tonight. Okay? I'm supposed to meet Jughead there later anyway. Why don't we all just go and act like a loving family like we used to?" She didn't mean to, but her gaze stayed on her, absent lately, mom. "Can we please? Don't any of you miss that? I know I do."

Polly nodded. "I do."

Hal sighed and looked down at the floor. "I do too.

"Mom?" Betty watched Alice change her stance.

"Yes!" Her mother forced out. "I miss it too." It was silent for a moment before she added. "I guess dinner at Pop's tonight wouldn't be too bad."

"Thank you." Elizabeth took one step back. "Now, I'm gonna go get my shoes and Polly's jacket and I'll be right down." She turned to run back up the stairs.

The remaining three looked around at each other before all sighing, almost in unison and Alice shook her head, walking passed Hal to grab her coat from the hook again. Hal avoided looking at her as he followed. When Alice had finished putting her coat on, she helped Polly put her shoes on and faked a smile at Betty when she returned from the second floor of the house. When Betty passed her, refusing to return the smile, Alice felt that hole in the wall of her being grow just a little bit bigger. Her heart sank as the three joys of her life went out to the car without even looking at her. Alone in the house for a second, she turned and looked around at everything that had been her life for the passed 18 years. The thought of more change terrified her and the hand that held onto the doorknob behind her, squeezed it even tighter. She sadly sighed once more before finally leaving the house and slowly closing the door behind her to lock it, hoping that the key would keep all of her old family memories safe and sound inside.

 

* * *

 

**_A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The new one should be up ASAP. Please leave some reviews and let me know what you think so far. MWAH!_ **


	4. Pop's

Forsythe Pendleton “Jughead” Jones the Third made his way into the small diner that night, shocked at what he saw when he turned his head. His girlfriend was having dinner with her entire family at Pop’s. Something he hadn’t seen since little Polly Cooper had gotten knocked up by a Blossom. Betty saw him over her parents’ shoulders and she said something to the Coopers before standing and making her way over to her boyfriend in front of the door.

 

“Hey.” She put an arm around his waist and leaned into his chest as he kissed her on the top of her head.

 

“Hey. Seeing the Coopers all together at Pop’s feels like time travel.” He joked and they made their way to the other side of the diner to sit in their own booth.

 

“I know.”

 

“Things are getting better, I presume?” Jug said as they took their seats.

 

“Not exactly, no.” She looked behind her at her mother, father, and sister before turning and whispering. “Mom’s hiding something from us.”

 

“Wwwhat else could she be hiding besides having a long lost son?” He wondered, nodding at Pop’s behind the counter when he waved.

 

“I don’t know. But remember how I said that lately she’s been getting home late or just leaving at random times of the day?” She asked, still in a hushed tone.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Well...it turns out that even Dad doesn’t know where she goes. I thought he did, but...tonight they started arguing about groceries-”

 

“Groceries?”

 

“Yeah. they were arguing about who does and doesn’t pick up the groceries and Dad, very angrily, asked her where she was for two hours after work today.”

 

They paused talking when Pop Tate came over with Jughead’s regular, a burger and fries. After thanking him and smiling while he walked away, Jug took a fry and bit into it before continuing their conversation. “Your mom was gone for two hours after work today?”

 

Betty nodded with wide and annoyed eyes. “Yeah.”

 

“So how did the big unhappy Cooper family end up here tonight?” He asked, eating the rest of his first fry.

 

“Well, they wouldn’t shut up about the groceries and having nothing to eat tonight, so I suggested we all just come here to eat, hoping it would calm them down for a few hours at least.” She reached across the table, taking a fry from his plate.

 

“And? Did it work?”

 

“So far...I guess so. They haven’t spoken much since we got here.” She sighed, looking off to the side. “I wish I knew what was up with Mom lately. Or at least knew where she goes when she disappears.” Jughead took a bite out of his burger and mid-chew, his eyes widened. “What?” Betty asked.

 

As soon as he was able to swallow, he put the burger down on the plate in front of him and ducked his head a bit as if the Coopers would hear him. “There is a way to find out.”

 

“What?”

 

“Where your mom goes when she disappears. Maybe we CAN know.” He looked to her family’s booth before shrinking down again to continue. “Let’s follow her.”

 

“What?” Betty repeated, this time with more shock.

 

“Yeah. Let’s do it. Tomorrow, we go to homeroom at school so we’re not marked absent...and then we meet across the street from the Register and we follow your mom when she leaves.” He ate another fry, this one dipped in ketchup.

 

“Are you insane? We can’t do that?” Elizabeth shrunk her head down too and spoke even quieter. “We’re not spying on my mom, Jug.”

 

“Why not?” He smirked. “It’ll be fun.”

 

“But we don’t have a car. All we’ve got is your dad’s motorcycle and it’s not quiet. She’ll eventually figure out that she’s being followed.”

 

“True….but we’ve also got my dad’s truck.” He couldn’t help but continue smiling.

 

“No. Jughead, we’re not illegally driving your father’s vehicle without a license or even a permit.” She folded her arms and leaned on the table in front of her.

 

“Come on. I’ve driven his truck before.” He readjusted his hat. “Do you wanna know what’s going on with your mom or not?”

 

Betty sat up straight again and shook her head. “Not enough to break the law, no.”

 

Suddenly, they heard the clicking of heels and two voices struggling to whisper, each one interrupting the other’s. Turning to see the commotion, they saw Alice and Hal standing face to face, closer to the exit. What they could tell was another argument had broken out and Betty looked to Polly, alone in the booth. They both strained their ears, trying to hear what they were fighting about. They could only hear little parts here and there.

 

“I’m so sick of this, Alice!” was one statement they could muster up from Hal as well as, “Yeah, okay, “ and something about the Register.

 

“I’m not talking about this here, Hal.” Alice looked around, hoping others wouldn’t notice her perfect life crumbling.

 

“No, we ARE gonna talk about it. Here and now!” Her husband demanded.

 

Alice shushed him, their bodies eerily close, as she continued to avoid eye contact with him. Finally, Hal said something else that neither Jughead nor Betty could hear, but the next thing they heard was loud and clear. “Fuck you, Hal!”

 

Betty’s jaw dropped instantly as her mother turned and left the restaurant, her father following close behind. She looked to her big sister who was already looking to her. Polly shrugged and shook her head before Betty turned to look back at Jug, whose eyes were also very wide and stunned. “Do you know where your father’s truck keys are?”

 

Jughead nodded, smirking and picking up another fry.

  


* * *

 

**_A/N: Okay, this chapter was soooooooo short, but I really liked where it ended. New chapter ASAP!_ **


	5. Stake Out

Betty slowly opened her eyes the next morning, not quite feeling like getting out of bed. She looked at the clock on her nightstand to see that it was almost six in the morning. Squeezing the warm and comfortable covers, she groaned before slowly sitting up with a yawn. Clearing her throat, she looked to her bedroom door and saw shadows slowly passing by underneath it. The floor cracked just a little outside and she noticed the shadows stopped as if hoping no one heard. Betty stood from her bed and went to the door, opening it slightly. “Mom?” She whispered when Alice turned to see her.

“Oh. Good morning, Elizabeth.”

“What are you doing?” Betty looked at her mother in her pajamas, holding a blanket and pillow under her arm as she seemed to be heading back into her own bedroom.

“Um...I was just about to get ready for work. But first I was, uh...changing the blankets on our bed.” There was an awkward silence between them as they both knew Alice was lying. “I, uh...I left the grocery list with some money down on the kitchen counter for you if you’re still willing to go to the store after school.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Betty nodded, almost hugging her bedroom door. Alice sent her a sad smile before creeping back toward her and Hal’s room. “Have a good day at work, Mom.” Their youngest spoke with a hint of sorrow.

Alice stopped at her door and turned to look at Betty. She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t as Betty went back into her room and closed the door. Frustrated with herself for being caught, Alice rolled her eyes and sighed.

Betty bit her fingernails as she closed her bedroom door and looked in her full body mirror. She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair before reaching for the brush on her vanity. She brushed her hair up to a high ponytail, holding it there for a moment before irritatedly dropping it and letting the gold locks fall around her shoulders. With a deep sigh, she brushed it once more to the side and kept it down before changing.

When she was finished getting ready, she stepped to her door, putting a hand on the doorknob in the attempt to leave, but she stopped when she heard more footsteps out in the hall. The footsteps were followed by the sounds of whispers. “I’ll see you at work, alright?” She heard her mother’s voice.

“Oh, really? I will?” Hal responded quietly, but with chagrin.

“Yes. Okay. I just need to go take care of something first.”

“It’s six o’clock in the morning, Alice.”

“I know.”

Betty cracked the door open just a bit, peeking through.

“Where the hell are you going?” He persisted.

“Don’t worry about it, alright? I want to go get something for the babies and Polly. She’s been really stressed lately and with us fighting all the time-”

Alice turned to leave, but Hal grabbed her arm. “Which, we wouldn’t be if you would just be honest with me. What’s been going on, Alice?”

Betty thought she could see her mother’s eyes tearing up when she responded. “I-I don’t have time to explain right now, Hal.” She sighed. “I promise...tonight we’ll talk about this.” She gently pulled her arm out of his grip. “Now, please...before Betty comes out here again and Polly wakes up, I need to go.”

Hal sighed. “Fine.” Betty was shocked to see her dad lean in closer to her mother for a soft kiss on the lips, which Alice, surprisingly, accepted and she turned to leave.

Alice’s attitude when she left confused Betty. She thought she saw a hint of regret and guilt on her mother’s face, something she’d never really seen before except when she told her about her secret brother.

Suddenly, Betty jumped at the sound of her phone receiving a text message. With a deep breath, she looked down at it and read the text from Jughead. “Are we still on for today? Where should we meet?”

She bit her lower lip, debating on whether or not they should go through with this before she began to type. “Meet at your dad’s trailer?” She sighed after pressing the ‘send’ button and grabbed her book bag, heading out the door and down the stairs. She went to the kitchen and put the grocery list into a pocket of her bag before having a bowl of cereal.

&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&

After homeroom and first class, Betty found her way into the girls’ locker room where she waited for the second hall bell to ring so she could sneak out during second period.

She took multiple back roads where she knew no one would spot her on her way to FP’s trailer where Jughead sat in his father’s truck, waiting for her. He smiled upon her arrival and got out, hugging her. “Any trouble?”

“No.” She responded, keeping her hands around his waist. “But things were really weird this morning.”

“Weird how?” He asked, but before she could answer, they saw a car drive by and they ducked down behind the truck, hoping it wasn’t anyone who knew they were supposed to be in school at the moment.

Once the car passed, they stood up straight again and Jughead opened the passenger door for her. Betty graciously got in and Jug walked around to the driver’s side with haste. The moment he got in, she grabbed for his hand when he attempted to put the key in the ignition. “Are you sure about this? You CAN drive, right?”

“Yes.” He chuckled at her wariness. “I told you. My dad used to take me out all the time and he would teach me. Don’t worry, okay?” When he saw the look on her face, he frowned. “Betty. It’s gonna be alright.”

She gave his hand a squeeze and sent him a weak smile. “My mom slept on the couch last night.” She looked down at their intertwined fingers. “She and Dad were trying to hide it, but I saw her sneaking back into their room this morning, hoping I wouldn’t notice.” Jughead sighed, kissing the back of her hand. “But...I don’t know what to think about anything anymore. My mom’s sleeping on the couch...which is something you’d expect her to make my dad do, which means SHE decided to herself. Polly’s beyond pregnant right now and, though she’s trying her best to hide it, she’s freaking out about being a mom and having her kids raised in a house with Hal and Alice Cooper. And my dad seems to be either going through some type of denial about everything with my mom or he’s pretending to be okay for Polly and I. But I saw a little glimpse of him this morning when he didn’t know I was watching him and Mom.” Jug used his free hand to push a strand of her hair behind her ear. “He’s confused and-and hurt. I even think that she is.”

“Betty, what do you mean?”

“They kissed for the first time in what seems like forever this morning and all I could read from it was that Mom made it seem like it may be their last and Dad was hoping that it WOULDN’T be their last.” Her face slowly turned from apathetic to sorrowful and she felt herself ready to cry. “Jughead, what happens if they divorce?” Her voice cracked. “I know things might actually get better, but what if Polly and I have to choose sides? What if she and I get split up? What if she has the babies and Mom and Dad can’t even be in the same room with them in the future?” A few tears escaped from her blue eyes and Jug wiped one away with his thumb before he leaned in to kiss her.

“Hey...Even if things don’t turn out the way it should...you won’t be alone. Okay?” He leaned his forehead against hers. “Okay?” He repeated, taking her cheek in his hand as she slowly nodded. “You ready?” He wondered before finally putting the key in the ignition and turning on the truck.

They pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the middle of town, parking across the street from the Riverdale Register. After about twenty minutes of their stake out, Jughead reached over Betty, opening the glove department and pulling out a bag of chips and a bag of small chocolate bars. “I brought snacks.” He grinned, opening the chips and offering some to her. She shook her head before staring into the window of her mother and father’s newspaper.

About four hours had passed and so far, Alice had stayed put at her computer desk while Hal had gone to get lunch and come back to his own desk. Betty and Jug spent most of the time talking to each other about his days as a South side student and her days dealing with drama at Riverdale High. Eventually she looked across the street and she shushed Jughead, pointing through the glass door. “Jughead, look!” She sat up a bit in her seat and they watched as Hal stood behind Alice’s chair, leaning over it to proofread one of her articles.

“What?” Jughead Jones looked too, wondering what she could be so hype about. Then he saw it. Hal said something and Alice...actually...laughed. They both did.

Jug turned to look at Betty who never took her eyes off of her parents. He looked back to see Alice looking over her shoulder at Hal behind her. She said something back to him and he stood straight up, chuckling before stepping over to the newspaper printer to pull out a sheet she must’ve just finished. Alice stood from her seat and joined him near the printer. They both read the paper in his hand and nodded along as if approving it to be sent out the next morning.

Hal looked to his wife beside him once more and handed her the paper, making eye contact with her as she gently took it back. Both of their smiles slowly faded when he said something to her and she made a full body sigh, stepping away from him and putting the paper on another desk filled with the layouts for tomorrow’s paper. The out-of-place sweetness in the atmosphere inside the Register suddenly changed to an awkward tensity as Hal crossed his arms over his chest. Jug and Betty watched him lean against the printer behind him as he spoke again to his wife.

With her back still to her husband, Alice answered while reorganizing the papers on the desk in front of her.

“Any chance you can read lips?” Jones asked his girlfriend in the truck.

Betty squinted, trying her best to get part of her mother’s statement. “Something about me and Polly and change scaring her.” She waited for her father to speak. “He says that he has no idea what she’s talking about…...What change?” She felt her heart beating faster as the mystery and anticipation clawed away at her. “Mom says, ‘I don’t wanna talk about this right now, Hal. Please.’” She began to dig her nails into the palms of her hands. “Dad says that she keeps saying that and she doesn’t make sense.” Betty swallowed and began to find it hard to breathe. “Jughead, what is going on? Why is she being so weird and confusing?”

“Hey.” Jug grabbed her hands, stopping her from digging again and he turned his body to face her. “Listen...your mom is always weird and confusing. Okay? She’s always been an unreadable book.”

“Yes...but now she’s an unreadable book that’s starting to unfold and…” Betty shook her hands in front of her. “I’m freaking out, Juggy!”

“Okay. Okay.” He said grabbing her hands again. “Take a deep breath.” He took one with her and rubbed circles on her hands with his thumbs.

“Jughead!” She exclaimed, her eyes widening.

“I know. I know. Things are a bit overwhelming right now.” He said with understanding.

“No. Jughead...she’s leaving.” Both looked back to the building and saw Alice Cooper climbing into her car.

Jughead started up the truck again and they followed far behind her as she drove off.

* * *

 

 

**_A/N: Okay, this chapter ended up being longer than I had expected. But I guess that makes up for the short one before this. Haha I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry to be so vague and mysterious, but it’s fun. Lol Please leave some more reviews. I love to/need to read your opinions for motivation. Thank you guys who have favorited or followed. I’ll be posting another chapter as soon as I can. MWAH!_ **


	6. The Adventures of Alice Cooper

"Remember. Don't follow too close behind." Betty put a hand on Jughead's forearm as he took a left behind Alice's car.

Instead of responding with some smartass remark, Jughead took his foot off the pedal a bit, suddenly feeling paranoid that Alice would catch them. Both he and Betty looked around at the street signs and surrounding buildings to try and decipher her mother's destination.

For a while, neither could wrap their heads around the journey, as Alice had taken a route they had never been down before. Soon, they found themselves about a football field or more behind her on an open road where nothing surrounded them but fields and trees. Jug looked to Betty in the passenger seat and she sent him the same odd expression. They now knew exactly where they were headed. The Blossoms' Thistle House.

When they watched Alice's car reach the Blossom driveway about a hundred yards ahead, Jughead pulled the truck over in between a large patch of trees to hide it. "What are you doing?" Betty wondered when he unbuckled his seat belt.

"Come on." He said, opening the door and getting out. He walked around to the other side of the truck as Betty undid her belt as well and he opened the passenger side door for her. "We're walking the rest of the way so she or the infamous Penelope Blossom don't find an oddly familiar pickup truck nearby."

"Right." Betty gladly took his hand and he helped her out before they made their way through the large field that ran up to Thistle House.

When they arrived, they quietly climbed the black fence that only slightly towered over Jughead. Jug went first, of course, helping Betty down on the other side. Once her feet hit the cobblestone path below them, they ducked down behind a few pine trees, seeing Alice on the doorstep to the temporary Blossom residence.

Rushing to a line of bushes, Juggy and Betty ducked lower before seeing Alice knock on the front door. The two sneaking teens crouched behind the bushes, looking through their branches to watch as the door eventually opened. They could barely see Penelope inside from their angle, though they heard her pretty well.

"Alice Cooper." They just barely saw her arms cross over her chest.

"Penelope. How's life without the mister?" Alice's smug grin caused Betty's eyes to roll.

"Are you here to gloat about all of my losses, Alice or have you come for a more pressing matter?" Cheryl's mom responded with a harsh tone. "Because otherwise...I know some things that I could gloat about when it comes to your supposedly perfect little family of angels. Or should I say snakes?"

Betty looked to Jug with confusion and he furrowed his brows with mystery before they both looked back to the two rival parents.

"No. Actually, Penelope. I came with a question." Alice paused. "Well, not so much of a question as it is a request."

Mrs. Blossom hesitated. "Alright."

"May I come in?"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." The recovering burn victim replied.

"Oh, come on, Penelope. I don't bite." There was a pause and Alice's expression slightly changed. "Alright. Well maybe I bite a little, but I'm not poisonous."

"Mmm..." They saw Penelope step aside as Alice walked in. "I'll pretend that's true for now."

Betty and Jughead heard the door close and they quietly made their way out from behind the bushes. "Come on." Betty whispered, grabbing Jug's hand and pulling him with her. They snuck over to one of the well-detailed windows and sat on the gravel below it. It was luckily opened just a crack and they could hear the conversation inside.

"So..." Came from Penelope's voice. "What can I do for a Southside Serpent-turned Stepford Wife on this fine afternoon?"

Betty sent wide-eyes to Jughead, who sent them right back. The blonde teen mouthed the words 'Southside Serpent' to her just-as-clueless boyfriend below the window.

"I was wondering..." Alice began. "Were you able to save anything in the 'apparently accidental' fire?"

"What are you insinuating?" Penelope asked about Alice's assumption that the fire was not an accident.

"Let me just get right to the point." Mrs. Cooper could tell that her lack of a filter was already about to cause trouble with her 'apparent' relative by marriage, so she continued with the significance of her visit. "I was hoping that you could maybe let me have something of Jason's? Something to give to Polly for the babies? It would really mean a lot to her and well, the twins do deserve something of their father's, don't they?"

"You're really asking me to give up something of my late son's, possibly one of the last things I have left of him, just to give it to your oh-so-precious pregnant teenage daughter?" No surprise, they heard bitter hostility in Penelope's tone.

"It's not for Polly. It's for the babies. HIS babies." Alice slightly paused. "YOUR grandchildren, might I add...I'm just asking if you have anything that you think would be nice to give to them once they're born? You don't even have to give it to me right away. I'm just wondering." It was silent for another moment. "Can't you, for once, put this stupid feud between our HUSBANDS aside and do something selfless for the sake of what's right?"

"And how do YOU know what's right?" The redhead asked with disdain.

"Because I know that these babies are really the only thing valuable enough to count as a real gift your son left behind." The passion in Alice's tone was shocking to Betty. It was just now that she had noticed her mother was not lying to Hal this morning about wanting to get something for the babies. She saved her thoughts for later so she could concentrate and hear more of the conversation inside. "You're gonna wanna see them, Penelope? Then I suggest you start pretending even a little bit that you care about the mother of Jason's children and get over the repugnant ego that your twisted husband left behind."

The silence that followed was agonizingly long before the sound of footsteps sounded in the house behind Betty and Jug. They waited a while before those footsteps slowly waned away and eventually returned. They heard a sniffle followed by a sigh and soon, Penelope's voice sounded with a hint of pain. "Here's one of the last photos we got of Jason before..." Betty turned and quietly lifted her head to peak into the window. She watched as a saddened Mrs. Blossom handed the framed picture to her mother before continuing to speak about two other items in her hands. "This was Jason's favorite stuffed animal. He wouldn't go anywhere without it, until Clifford told him we had thrown it away to get him to stop taking it everywhere." A small hint of regret seemed to be plastered on the cruel mother's face. "I took it out of the trash and kept it hidden in our attic here without Cliff's knowledge. I planned to give it back to Jason on his 18th birthday." She fought back a light smile before handing it to a, suddenly, softer Alice. "And here's his baby rattle." Jughead poked his head up as well, seeing Penelope hand over the small plastic toy with hesitation.

"Betty, come on." Jughead whispered, taking hold of her hand.

"No, wait." She protested, pulling back against his grip.

"Betty, we can't be here when your mom leaves. We need to be back at the truck before she drives away. Let's go." He pulled again and she finally gave in, running back to the truck with him.

Once they got back in, Jug started it and they waited again, both wishing they could've heard the rest of the conversation. "My mom was telling the truth." Betty said, more to herself than to the other one present.

"What?"

"This morning she told my dad that she was gonna try and get something for Polly and the babies. I thought she lied....She was telling the truth." She leaned her elbow against the truck window while leaning her head against her hand.

"This still doesn't explain where she's been going the past few weeks." Jughead pointed out.

"I know." She bit the fingernails on her free hand. "I can't believe she pulled that off."

"Pulled what off?" Jones responded. "You mean actually being able to convince Cheryl's mom to give away something of Jason's for Polly?"

Betty slowly nodded as she looked out her window. "Jug. There she is." She pointed to the driveway down the road, seeing Alice's car backing out of Thistle House. "Where's she going now? Town's back that way." Betty pointed in the opposite direction of where her mother was headed.

"Well..." Jughead couldn't help but smile. He was enjoying playing spy kids. "Time to find out more about the Adventures of Alice Cooper." He winked and put the truck in reverse, pulling out of the woods and following Alice to her next destination.

________________________________________________________________________________

_**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope that soon we get more interactions between the Coopers, Blossoms, and Lodges on the show. All of the parent drama gives me life! Haha Please leave me lots and lots of comments. I love the feedback! MWAH!** _


	7. A Nice Little Gift

Betty Cooper stared out the passenger side window of FP Jones' pickup truck, watching unrecognizable trees and farms pass by. She looked around, wondering where her mother could possibly be headed now. Biting her lower lip, she turned to look ahead of her, concentrating on her mother's vehicle, hoping not to lose it so far in front of them. Her nerves eventually got the best of her and she finally spoke. "Juggy? Do you know where we're going?"

"To be honest right now, Betty, I don't even know where we are." He held onto her hand in between the two seats while her heart began to beat faster and harder. "I've never even been this way before." Betty swallowed, unaware if they should continue on in case they lost Alice and got lost themselves in the middle of nowhere. When Jughead saw the anxious look on her face, he thought hard about something to make her feel better. "You know...that was really really sweet of your mom back there."

"What?" Apprehensive Betty snapped out of her own thoughts when he spoke.

"For your, usually supercilious, mom to do what she did back there for Polly was kind of somewhat of a miracle to witness." He admitted, resting his left wrist over the top of the steering wheel, almost like he'd had a driver's license for years. "I'm even a bit impressed with Penelope Blossom as well." He smiled at her, hoping the clutter of negativity in her head was disappearing, even a little. "I never thought I'd see the day when the two prima donnas of the Blossom and Cooper households would cooperate with one another." Jug smirked at his girlfriend beside him. "We must be in an alternate universe or something."

Finally, Betty let out a small laugh, just what Jughead wanted and he proudly smiled to himself, looking back at the road in front of him. They drove on for a little while longer before their journey had begun to come to an end.

"What's going on?" Betty wondered as the truck began to jerk.

"Oh, no, no, no! Not now!" Jughead tried to re-shift the gears as the truck continued to putter. "Shit!" He yelled, slamming both hands on the steering wheel when they came to a full stop. "We're out of gas."

The blonde in the passenger seat lulled her head back in annoyance as she let out an irritated sigh. "Great!" She looked through the back window of the truck, realizing just how alone they were on this road. "The only person close enough to come help us is my mom and if she finds out about us skipping school together to spy on her-"

"Don't worry about that." Jughead said with his cell phone already up to his ear. "I know who can help us."

"What? Who?" She asked, but he didn't answer as he waited for someone on the other end of the phone to pick up.

Twenty minutes had passed since Jughead hung up the phone with their mysterious helper and they stood outside of the truck, leaning against it in the bright, warm sun. Betty put her hand over her eyes to block out the light when they saw the, obviously used, vehicle pulling up behind them. "There they are." Jughead moved away from the truck, stepping toward them.

The driver's side door opened just seconds before the passenger side door did and out stepped a tall kid with dark hair and a nice black and blue shiner over his left eye. He shut the driver's side door and walked around to the trunk of his car. The girl that exited the passenger side shut her door and walked over to Jughead. She had dark skin and long, wavy hair with a smirk plastered on her face as if she would laugh at Jughead's position at any moment. "Well, Jones." She began while the other stranger to Betty opened his trunk, pulling out a full gas can. "I never expected you to be a car thief OR an illegal driver." She crossed her arms over her chest, never warping the smirk upon her lips.

"Save it, Toni." He chuckled before looking to the teen shutting the trunk door tight. "Thanks, Sweet Pea."

The tall kid made his way passed Betty and Jughead, filling the truck with the gas can immediately.

"Betty Cooper, this is Toni Topaz. She and I go to Southside High together. And that over there is Sweet Pea." Juggy pointed.

"Sweet Pea?" Betty replied with a smirk of her own.

"Hey." Toni started. "You're dating a guy named 'Jughead,' I'm not so sure you can talk." She silently chuckled.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Betty couldn't help but feel curious.

"Who? Sweet Pea?" Toni laughed. "No. We've just got each other's back, that's all. Jughead called and said he needed a little help...so, I asked Sweet Pea for a ride." She moved her hands to her hips. "He's a senior."

"Ah." Cooper nodded once before turning around to look at the taller boy. It was then that she saw it. The jacket. "He's a Serpent?" She tried to whisper.

"Yeah." Jughead responded in a bit of a shaky tone. "They both are."

"Oh. So you're hanging out with Serpents now, Jug?" She put her own hands on her hips as well.

"It's just for protection, Betty. I sit with them at lunch and none of the North side haters mess with me." He looked away for a second before looking back into her eyes. "It was my dad's idea."

"Oh yeah? And he told you that himself?" She slightly doubted.

"Yes. The last time I got to visit him before they shipped him off to a more definite prison. Trust me, Betty. You have nothing to worry about." He put his right hand on her lower back and leaned in for a light kiss.

"Done." Sweet Pea closed up the gas tank and headed back to his car.

"Thank you." Betty said in a gentle tone.

"And thank God for the invention of the phone GPS." Juggy joked. "Otherwise we would've never been able to tell you guys where we were."

"You don't need anything else, do you?" Sweet Pea asked with major annoyance in his tone and on his face.

"Uh, no. Thanks, man." Jughead stretched out his hand to shake Sweet Pea's, but the tallest one in the group simply turned around and got back into his car.

"Sorry about him." Toni gritted her teeth with embarrassment and shame. "He's just not used to you yet."

"You mean he just doesn't LIKE me yet." Juggy corrected and Toni slightly nodded.

"Well, I'll see you in school tomorrow?" The female Serpent asked.

"Maybe...our whole plan kinda got ruined by this running out of gas thing today, so Betty and I may need to skip tomorrow too." He ignored the look his girlfriend gave him in the corner of his eye.

"Alright. Well...good luck." Toni returned to Sweet Pea's car and he squealed his tires as he quickly drove off.

"She's pretty." Betty said the moment they were gone.

"Is she?" Jones turned to smile at her. "I only have eyes for one girl." He winked and they kissed again before hopping back into the truck. "So...what do you wanna do?" He wondered, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. "We could go home and try again tomorrow? Or we could drive on for a little bit and see if we can find your mom? Or...we can just give up on this whole thing and you could sit down and have a talk with her?" He knew that last option shouldn't necessarily be considered an option, but he gave it a shot anyway.

"I mean...she may not even go tomorrow, so we'd just be missing another day of school for no reason...which, eventually my parents will find out about. Driving on a little bit seems too risky considering both of our phones are dying, so we won't have a GPS to help us if we get lost. And sitting down to talk with Alice Cooper is pretty much always impossible, so I don't even know what to do." Betty put her seat belt back on and waited for a response from her boyfriend as he looked around, thinking of another option.

"You know...we could just go back home and try again next week?" He refused to give up on helping Betty in anyway he could.

"I don't know." She stared at the long road ahead and debated Jug's second option of driving on until they found Alice's car. She took in a very deep breath and sadly looking back at him. "We should just go home."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She answered with a sigh before sadly adding, "We missed our chance to really find out what's been going on with her."

"Betty. I'm really sorry." Jughead tilted his head to the side with empathy.

"It's alright. My mom did tell my dad that she would sit down and talk with him tonight anyway, so maybe we'll all learn more soon." She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and Jughead turned the truck on after apologizing once more for the mishap. He kissed her again and slowly turned the truck around, heading back into town.

Later that night, Alice and Hal, surprisingly, returned home from work around the same time. Betty had begun to cook dinner already and she had Polly set the dinner table for the spaghetti.

"Hello, girls." Alice happily hung up her coat, walking into the kitchen. "Mmmm, smells good." She gave Polly a kiss on the cheek before joining Betty in the kitchen to help with the glasses and drinks.

"How was your day?" Hal asked the oldest while she set down the silverware.

"Not too bad. My back's killing me though." The extremely pregnant teen admitted.

"Oh, how I don't miss that." Alice poured a glass of orange juice for Betty and Polly and she poured some wine for her and Hal. "What about you, Betty?" The youngest was stirring the spaghetti sauce as her eyes widened when her mother spoke her name. "How was school?"

"Oh. Um....it was fine." Her head began to spin, hoping she wouldn't give anything away about what she really did that day.

"Any homework?" Hal wondered.

"Uh, no."

"No?!" Mr. Cooper helped Alice put the glasses on the table before he sat in his chair. "When your mother and I were in high school, we had homework for every subject almost every night."

"Well, I, uh...I DID have homework. I just, uh, finished it a while ago. That's what I meant." She turned off the stove and poured the sauce into the pot of spaghetti before mixing it all together.

"That's our Betty." Alice said with a prideful smile as she took her seat as well.

Elizabeth brought the food over to the table and set it down in the middle.

"Thank you for buying the groceries today." Hal said to Betty as she sat down.

"Yes, and thank you for making dinner. You really didn't have to." Alice said as she was the first to reach for the pot of spaghetti, setting some onto her own plate before passing it to Polly.

"Well, I just thought it'd be better to have dinner done before you two got home so you wouldn't have to worry about it." She didn't say what she was really thinking, which was that making food first would probably prevent another fight from starting.

"Well, what a nice little gift. Thank you." Hal nodded to his youngest, taking the pot of spaghetti from Polly.

"Oh. Um! Speaking of little gifts. Polly," Alice's grin grew even wider, "...I got something for you and the babies." She stood from her chair and headed for the front room while she continued to speak. "Now, I was gonna wait till after dinner, but I just can't." She was gone for a little less than a moment before she returned with a gift bag. Betty's eyes widened as she knew exactly what was inside. Her heart began to pound and she chugged her orange juice, wanting to steal her mother's glass of wine. "Now, I know that you already have plenty of things for the babies from the baby shower, but...I put this together myself-" Betty suddenly choked on her juice and everyone looked to her as she coughed.

"Betty. Are you alright?" Hal asked.

The blonde cleared her throat. "Mhm. Yeah, I'm fine." Her hoarse voice forced out. "Go...go ahead, Mom." She cleared her throat again before patting her chest, wanting nothing more than to tell Polly the truth. That Alice had NOT put the gift together all by herself and that Penelope had actually came through as a grandmother. But, with the knowledge that that would blow her and Jughead's cover from earlier, she kept her choking mouth shut and listened to the rest, hoping Penelope would SOMEHOW make a way into the story.

"You're sure you're alright?" Alice asked once more. Once Betty nodded, taking another sip, her mother turned her attention back to the gift bag in her hand. "So...I was able to get my hands on these. They're, um...just something for the babies to have as keepsakes from their father."

Polly gasped as she reached out to take the bag from her mother. It was right in that moment...right in the middle of that exchange that Betty saw it. It was as if she had seen it in slow motion and things went quiet around her. As Polly's excited hands reached for the gift bag and Alice's left hand extended it to hand it over, Betty noticed that her mother's wedding ring was gone.

* * *

 

_**A/N: Hoooo boy! I'm not gonna lie, this chapter was a bit difficult to write. It's 3:25 in the morning and I just finished it. I want nothing more than to write on and on and on, but I should DEFINITELY get some sleep. Please please please let me know what you think in the review/comment section! I promise all will be revealed soon and our lovely FP Jones will begin to make an appearance. Hope you enjoyed it. MWAH!** _


	8. Ring Leader

Polly Cooper happily took the gift bag from her mother, anxious to open it with tears in her eyes. She missed Jason more than anything. They ever even got to say 'goodbye' to each other and now they'll never even get to say 'hello' again. She searched through the bag, pulling out the white tissue paper her mother had carefully placed inside. The first thing she got her hands on was the framed photo of Jason before his untimely demise. One of Polly's tears rolled softly down her pale cheek and she weakly smiled, wiping it away with a sniffle. Setting it on the table, she reached in, pulling out the rattle. 

"That was Jason's when he was a baby." Alice sent her daughter a pained smile before she turned to see the look of wonder on Hal's face.

"Mom. Oh my God!" Polly began.

"Look again." Mrs. Cooper nodded her head toward the bag and Polly obeyed, pulling out Jason's old stuffed lion. 

"Alice, how did you-?" Her stunned husband wondered.

She ignored Hal, interrupting him right away. "Penelope told me that Jason wouldn't go anywhere without that when he was little."

The mention of Penelope's name finally snapped Elizabeth out of her long, blank stare at the empty plate in front of her after she had seen her mother's empty finger. She looked at it once more, seeing the tan-line from the ring and she began to feel emotionally exhausted. One very hard pound in her chest caused her to look away from her mother's finger and over to her dad, who stared at Alice with amazement. "Penelope Blossom willingly gave those to you?" Hal asked and Betty looked back to her mom. "How did you even manage to get her to-"

"I have my ways, Hal." Alice interrupted again.

"Mom." Polly wiped away a few more tears. "Thank you so so much! You don't know what this means to me." The oldest Cooper daughter leaned over, hugging her mother before setting the gifts back in the bag and setting the bag on the floor. Her hunger came back with a force as she felt one of the babies kick in light of the situation. She picked up her fork and began to swirl her first forkful of spaghetti onto it. "I miss Jason so much. You don't even understand." She accidentally let a piece of her mind slip before taking a bite.

"Yes, I do, Poll." Alice reached her hand across the table, setting it over Polly's hand to hold it for a second. "Losing your first love is always the hardest." She paused. "Especially this way." She turned and took a bite of spaghetti herself. "I can't even imagine what I would do if my first love was murdered by-"

"Alice." Hal sent her an expression filled with warning about her lack of a filtered mouth.

"I'm sorry." She practically whispered before both she and Hal took a bite together.

"Who WAS your first love, Mom?" Polly wondered. "Was it Dad?" 

"No, actually it wasn't. She-" Hal answered, opening his mouth to say something else when Alice interrupted. 

"Betty, you're not eating?" Mrs. Cooper looked at the empty plate in front of her youngest.

Elizabeth couldn't help but think of the ringless finger. She pushed her chair back and stood up. "No. Um...actually, I'm not feeling too well. I think I'm just gonna go upstairs and get ready for bed or...something." She stepped away from the table, pushing in her chair. "Goodnight, Dad." She stopped beside her father's chair and bent over, hugging him before giving him a kiss on the cheek. 

"Goodnight, Betty." He gave her arm a pat before she walked around the table to hug her sister.

"Goodnight, Polly. I love you." 

"I love you too, Betty. I hope you feel better." 

"Goodnight, Elizabeth." Alice waited for Betty to hug her as well, but instead, the teen passed her mother by, only setting a hand on her mother's shoulder. Brushing it off as if it did not bother her, Alice watched her walk toward the stairs. "If you need anything let your father and I know, okay?" They all watched the 16 year old climb the steps before she disappeared on the second floor.

The moment Betty shut the door to her room, she lifted her hand to cover her mouth as she cried. She couldn't move for what felt like forever. She just stood there with a hand on the door and the other over her mouth. With a deep breath after one of her sobs, she moved both hands up to her hair, pulling at it with frustration. Eventually, she stepped away from the door and sat on the end of her bed. She took her phone out from her pants pocket and dialed the first number that came to her mind. Sniffling, she tried to get ahold of herself before the person on the other end answered.

"Hello?"

"Veronica?"

"Betty? What's up?" The Lodge on the other end responded.

There was a long pause before Betty could find the strength to speak as more tears forced their way out. She eventually got the words out, though they were quiet. "I think my mom's cheating on my dad."

"What?!" Veronica's voice grew louder. "Why do you think that?"

"Jughead and I followed her after work today."

"Oh! That's where you were! Why didn't you tell me?" She wondered. 

"I don't know." Betty wiped away another tear. "We followed her out into the middle of nowhere until we ran out of gas and some of Jug's Serpent friends had to come rescue us."

"Wait a minute! Slow down! What?! Jughead's hanging out with Serpents?" Betty could hear Veronica lower her own voice in the hopes that her mother and father wouldn't hear her either.

"Apparently." Betty shook her head, looking up to the ceiling.

"Oh my God! And your mom? You really think she's cheating? Where did she go?" 

"I don't know. We came back home after we ran out of gas." She rubbed her forehead before telling the most important piece of the puzzle in a low whisper. "Veronica, she took off her wedding ring."

"Whoa! For realsies?" Betty's best friend replied.

"Yeah. And I don't think she remembered that she took it off. She's acting like everything is fine and dandy. And Dad has no clue. At least not to my knowledge."

"Is he still wearing his?" 

"Yes. And they both kissed this morning and had kind of a moment at the Register this afternoon. So I know that it can't just be them splitting up or anything...Ronnie, what do I do?" The nails on her left hand had begun to dig into her palms once again.

"Just, um...take deep breaths and I guess that all you can do for now is wait to see what happens." The brunette paused thinking of something they could do to find out the truth. "You know what, no." She changed her mind. "You and I are gonna get to the bottom of this, okay? Tomorrow after school, you're gonna follow her again and this time, I'll be there." 

"Veronica, I-" Betty began to protest, but she was interrupted.

"No. You call your boyfriend and tell him that we're going on an adventure tomorrow. We're gonna figure this out, Betty." Veronica insisted. "Besides, I could really use a break from Mr. C's chemistry class." 

Betty sighed. "Okay. But after tomorrow, I'm done with this investigator thing. I don't think my mind, body, and soul can take much more."

"Understandable, B. Just remember to take deep breaths. I'll see you tomorrow, Love." Veronica faked the sound of a kiss on the other end.

"Bye." Betty hung up and dialed Jughead's number.

The next morning, Betty slowly walked down the stairs, breathing in the smell of bacon and pancakes being made by her mother. She took a seat on a stool at the island and began to look through her phone at text messages from Veronica and Jughead confirming today's events. Alice hummed to herself while flipping one last pancake onto a plate full of them before turning off the stove. She grabbed the plate of bacon in one hand and the plate of pancakes in the other and turned around, jumping at the sight of Betty. She took a deep breath, giggling at the fact that her daughter had scared her. "Elizabeth. You're so quiet, I didn't hear you come in. Feeling any better this morning?" She asked, setting the plates down in the center of the island. She turned and reached into one of the cupboards for four plates for the family. 

"Not really. But I'll deal." Betty answered, taking a piece of bacon and eating it right away. In fact, she never had a stomach ache...it was more of a heart ache, which she hoped could be cured later this afternoon. 

"Maybe you should have some Alka-Seltzer." Alice suggested while pulling glasses out of a cupboard after setting down the breakfast plates.

"No, thank you. I think I just need to eat something." Betty lied, taking another bite of her bacon.

Soon, they were joined by Hal and Polly, who yawned on her way down the last step. "Hey, Alice? Did you get a receipt from the last time you paid the car insurance?" 

"Yeah. Why?" Alice replied while pouring some orange juice into each glass and Betty noticed the significant change in her tone when speaking to Hal.

"Could I see it, please?" Mr. Cooper wondered before he grabbed a plate.

"It's in the car. Elizabeth, could you go and get it out of the glove compartment, please? It's in an envelope with a little car insurance logo in the top left corner." She handed a glass of juice to Polly.

"Uh. Sure." The youngest squinted her eyes when her mother wasn't looking and she caught that she still did not have her wedding ring. 

With a silent sigh, Betty left the house to look in her mom's car for the envelope. Sitting on the driver's side, she leaned over the middle console to open the glove compartment. The second its door fell open, her eyes widened and she leaned back in the driver's seat. What fell out could not be real. It SHOULD not be real. She quickly grabbed for the envelope that sat on top of the others before bending over and picking up the bra that had fallen from inside the hatch.

Without hesitation, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Veronica. "Just found one of my mom's bras in the glove compartment of her car. She has to be cheating. WTAF?" And with that, she put the bra back where it was and slammed the compartment shut, getting out and going back inside to fake being a happy family one last time.

$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&

Betty sat on one of the couches in the school's student lounge at the end of the day, waiting for Veronica to appear. Kevin sat beside her eating a bag of chips from the vending machine. "Are you okay, Betty?" He asked, watching her stare at the coffee table in front of them. "You've been so out of it today."

"What?" She looked to her friend with distress. "Oh...yeah, I'm just...freaking out about my mom that's all."

"Why? What's going on?" He asked with concern.

Before she could respond, Veronica entered the room with Archie behind her. "You coming, B?"

Betty reluctantly stood up and walked over to the other two. "Where are you going?" Kevin wondered.

"We're gonna go spy on Mrs. Cooper." Ronnie replied with a hand on her hip. "Wanna join?"

"Yes!" Kevin Keller said with excitement. "Absolutely!"

"No. V, I don't think we're all gonna fit in Jughead's truck?" Betty said quietly.

"Whoa!" Kevin exclaimed. "Jughead can drive now?"

"Shhh!" Veronica and Betty both shushed him.

"Not legally." Archie whispered.

"Oh." Kevin whispered back. "Well, of course not." 

"They can sit in the back." Ronnie suggested.

"That's gonna cause more suspicion as well as it being illegal." Betty pointed out.

"And Jughead driving isn't?" Kevin added.

"Yes, but at least with two or three people in the truck, we might not get pulled over. If we bring a whole gang of underage kids, then we definitely will be." Elizabeth responded.

Veronica smiled and sighed, grabbing Betty by the hand. "Trust the V, Bettykins." And she dragged her away, Kevin and Archie following.

When they made it to FP's trailer, Betty was surprised to see Jug leaning against the front of the truck with a smile. "About time you finally showed up." He joked, stepping away from it and walking over to Betty. His smile faded when he remembered how she must feel and he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her gently.

"How did you do it all by yourself?" Veronica asked Jughead.

"Do what?" Betty wondered, pulling out of the hug. It was then that she finally noticed the difference in the truck. The back of it had been covered with a pick up truck's cap, which could easily hide anyone sitting there with its tinted windows.

"Called in a few Serpents." Juggy proudly responded, with an arm around Betty's shoulders. "I told you I'd come through, Ronnie."

Betty was shocked to see her boyfriend and best friend interacting so well with each other, though she was also curious as to how they knew what the other was talking about. "You've...been texting my boyfriend?" She asked Veronica who stood directly in front of Archie. 

The redhead hugged the ring leader from behind and she leaned her head back against his chest. "Yeah. I figured Archie would wanna come and I knew that there'd probably be no room for the four of us in there, so I asked Jug if he had another vehicle or something and he suggested this." Ronnie held tight to Archie's arms over her stomach.

"Brilliant!" Kevin smiled, opening the back and hopping in. "I call sitting here." He took a corner in the far back and waited for the other four to respond. "Well? Are we going?" He asked when they all just stood there.

"Yeah." Archie gave Ronnie a small kiss and hopped in the back, opposite Kevin before the girls walked around to the front. 

"Remember...." Jughead spoke as he shut the back. "...stay as hidden as possible."

"Not a problem." Kevin answered and Jughead joined the girls in the front of the truck, hopping in the driver's seat.


	9. Follow The Leader

"Um...Jug?" Betty said, sitting in between Veronica and Jughead.

"Yeah?" He responded, taking a right hand turn.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to take a left to get to the Register." Betty tried her best to hide the huge pool of emotions she felt. She felt angry, she felt sad. A part of her was anxious while another part of her felt afraid that they could be pulled over and caught for breaking so many laws. She was also frustrated with Veronica for turning this emotional time into, basically, a road trip with the gang. This wasn't supposed to be fun. She knew Ronnie meant well and perhaps she invited so many people as a support group for her, but she still couldn't help but feel annoyed at about everything today.

"We're not going to the Register." Jughead responded.

"We're not?" His girlfriend replied with confusion.

"No. I have a better idea."

They drove on for awhile and soon, Veronica took hold of Betty's hand before leaning her head against Betty's shoulder. The blonde succumbed to the embrace and let her head fall to rest upon Veronica's. Juggy couldn't help but put a comforting hand on Betty's knee and she held it there for a while.

She eventually realized where they were headed. Jug had thought up the genius plan to go back to the section of the woods near Thistle House to hide the truck behind once again. When Alice would pass, they would pull out behind her and follow just as they did yesterday.

"Thank you." Betty let out in a whisper. "I really love you guys. You know that, right?"

"Of course, B." Veronica squeezed Betty's hand. "We love you too."

"Careful." Jughead cleared his throat. "I may be getting a little jealous over here." He joked and the other two giggled.

They finally made it to their hideout and he backed into the area surrounded by maple trees. Archie and Kevin knocked on the glass to the front of the window, asking what was going on. Ronnie took out her phone and texted Archie to let them know the plan. When he got it, he sent them a thumbs up and continued on with the conversation he was having with Kevin.

Betty lifted her head from Veronica's. "I hope this is all just some big misunderstanding."

"We do too, babe." Jug held tighter to her hand upon her knee.

"We're here for you." Veronica said, propping her chin up on Betty's shoulder with a smile.

The blonde opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't when they heard a knock on the glass again. Ronnie turned to look at her boyfriend behind them and Archie pointed to a car passing by. Ronnie turned to look. "That's her." Both she and Jughead said together and Juggy pulled out once Alice was further down the road.

"Okay...this is where we ran out of gas yesterday." Jughead spoke as they passed the tire marks Sweet Pea's car had made when he peeled out the day before.

"Let's hope you don't run out again." Veronica joked.

"I put a full gas can in the back this time." He chuckled. "So even if we do, we're good."

Both Ronnie and Juggy tried their best to make light conversation as they both noticed Betty's uncomfortable and nervous silence. They made jokes about Archie and made up names for Polly's babies. Elizabeth smirked every now and then, but her eyes stayed focused on her mom up ahead.

Eventually, they saw Mrs. Cooper's car slow down as it turned right, entering the parking lot of an enormous white building. Kevin knocked on the glass behind Jug, Betty, and Ronnie, hoping to get their attention. The girls turned to see him show them the GPS on his phone. He pointed at the address they were approaching and B and V both widened their eyes as they turned to face forward again. "Jughead..." Betty began as her heart fell in her chest and her confusion only metastasized.

"Wait a minute." Jones looked at the large words on the sign in front of the fenced off building far ahead. "State Penitentiary?" He read aloud. He pulled the truck over about fifty yards from the entrance to the well-secured building. Putting the vehicle in park, he put both hands over his face and they heard Kevin and Archie hopping out of the back. Kevin approached the passenger side window while Archie walked around to the driver's side. Jug's window was already half way down and he stared at the tall, barbed wire fence near the building.

"Isn't this where your dad is?" Archie wondered through the window.

Kevin opened the door beside Veronica. "This is definitely where my dad's arrests are sent."

"Wait." Veronica began. "So...your mom has been coming here pretty much everyday since FP Jones was sent here?"

"Why would your mom want to visit my dad?" Jughead finally let out.

"I....I don't know." The just-as-stunned blonde choked out. "And how would this explain me finding her bra in the glove compartment this morning?"

"Wait, what?" Kevin, obviously a little out of the loop, asked.

"Or the missing ring from her finger?" Betty continued, not wanting to explain the bra story to Kev.

All five of them looked to the prison with lots of questions. "How are we going to find out?" Veronica asked aloud. "Any ideas?"

"Actually...." Kevin said, slowly turning his head back to his friends. "Jughead...why don't you go in and visit your dad?"

"What?" Archie and Jug said in unison.

"That's....not a bad idea." Veronica admitted, looking to Jughead, then to his girlfriend. "Betty...you should go with him. It's normal if he wants to bring his girlfriend, right? Think about it. It makes sense. You're just a son going in to visit his father. If you run into Mama Cooper inside, it's not like she'd suspect anything weird, like us spying, right?"

"What? No!" Betty protested. "If my mom sees me in a prison, that'd be the end of my relationship with Juggy. For good."

"No..." Kevin began. "The procedures for getting in to visit prisoners is so elaborate and elongated that you may not even run into your mom." He shared his odd knowledge of criminal justice.

"Okay, but what could your mom be doing here?" Archie wondered aloud.

"Maybe it has something to do with her being an ex-Serpent?" Jughead pointed out.

"Her WHAT?!" Asked Ronnie.

"I'm sorry?" Kevin spoke up.

"What did you say?" Archie chimed in at the same time as the other two.

Betty replied, ignoring the three clueless members of the group. "We don't even know if that's true, Jughead. Maybe that's just something Penelope said to-"

"Wait! Penelope BLOSSOM?" Kevin interrupted.

"Hold your over-sized iPhone, Betty Cooper." Ronnie adjusted her position in the truck in order to face Elizabeth. "How much spying did the two of you actually do yesterday?" She looked over her shoulder at Kevin for a moment before turning back to her best friend. "Penelope Blossom was involved? Spill!"

Betty looked to Jughead who looked to her and they both sighed, before quickly telling them the story about yesterday's stake out and all of the information they had gathered or put together within their own minds. When they finished explaining, it was silent for a moment and all they could hear was the soft breeze blow by the open window and the open door that Kevin stood in.

After a moment, Jughead unbuckled his seat belt. "What are you doing?" His girlfriend asked beside him.

"I'm going in." He opened the door when Archie stepped aside.

"You are?" Betty suddenly began to panic. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I haven't seen my father in weeks and I'm actually very curious as to what your mother would want with him here." He got out of the truck and stood, holding the door open with his left hand, looking in on Betty. He reached out his right hand. "Care to join me?"

Betty anxiously rubbed her hands on her thighs as she thought about it. She looked down at his inviting hand and with a sigh, she took it and he helped her out of the truck. They intertwined their fingers as they stood on the side of the road. "You ready?" She quietly asked her boyfriend. Jug nodded and they started to walk down the road toward the prison.

Once they got inside, Betty's heartbeat had increased so much, she could swear everyone around them could hear it.

"Please, come with me, Miss." A female guard said to Betty, opening a door to a room across from the one a male officer led Jughead to. They gave each other one last look before parting ways. "Step into that stall and take off your bra."

"What?" Betty asked immediately.

"It's standard procedure. We need to make sure your underwire won't be used as a weapon or a lock pick." The guard responded, with a hand metal detector in her hand.

"Um...okay." Betty stepped into the changing room stall and did as she was asked. "Now what?"

"Put your shirt and jacket back on and step out here with your brassiere." The dark skinned woman reached up to a shelf, pulling down a brown paper bag. Betty stepped out of the stall with her bra in her hand. "Set it in here, please?" The guard held the brown paper bag open in front of the teen, who obeyed and placed her light pink bra inside. "Do you have any jewelry or devices that may contain metal?" The guard asked.

"Just my necklace and my phone." Elizabeth admitted.

"Please place them in here as well." She watched the girl do as she was told and suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Gina?" Another female guard slightly opened the door.

"What is it, Anne?"

"The bitchy house mom is ready to leave." Anne responded in a hushed tone, though Betty heard every word and sadly knew they were talking about Alice.

"Really? Already? That was quick." Gina left the door open a crack as she stepped over to the cubbies where they placed visitor's belongings.

"Yeah. Thank God. I think he said something she didn't like." Anne said with a chuckle. "Oh...here she comes."

Betty's eyes widened and she turned, running into one of the stalls. "Come on in." Gina said in a fake friendly tone when Alice arrived. "Just-" Gina turned to see that Betty had gone. "Did you forget something, sweetie?" She yelled.

Betty bit her nails, slightly changing her voice as she replied. "Mhm."

"Here you go." Gina said. Betty looked through the crack of her stall, seeing Gina hand Alice's belongings back to her. "Everything should be there."

"They better be." Mrs. Cooper took the bag from the officer and searched through it, quickly taking everything out and placing them in her pockets. The last thing she grabbed was her bra and she turned to enter the stall beside Betty's. The teen held her breath, hoping she wouldn't suspect a thing. Once Alice had finished, she stepped out of the stall and Betty peaked through the crack again. "I can't believe such a well-guarded place like this would 'misplace' someone's wedding ring."

"Again. We are very sorry, ma'am." Gina apologized.

"You're very lucky you found it or I was gonna sue." The journalist spoke in an irritated, threatening tone.

"We understand." Anne chimed in.

Betty saw her mom open her mouth to say something else, but she was interrupted when her cell phone rang. Alice answered it. "Hello?............Are you serious?...........I-I'm on my way!" She hung up and ran out of the prison without a word.

Betty finally let the breath she had been holding in go and she exited the stall. "You okay there, Miss?" Gina asked with concern.

When Elizabeth Cooper opened her mouth to respond, she heard her cell phone ringing from inside its cubby. "Oh. That's mine. Could I please?"

"Usually we're not supposed to. But since your hand hasn't been stamped yet. Go ahead." Gina pointed to the cubby with the number '17' painted on it.

"Thank you." Betty reached for her paper bag and pulled out the ringing device. Her heart stopped when she saw that it was her mom calling. She shakingly answered it. "Mom?"

 _"Betty! Where are you? Your father can't find you anywhere."_ Alice's voice sounded agitated on the other end. _"Your sister is in labor. You need to be at the hospital right now."_

"Oh. Uh. Okay. I'm on my way." The blonde hung up the phone and rushed to the door with her paper bag still in hand.

"Hey, Miss! Wait!" Gina ran after her.

Once she stepped out, she went across the hall to knock on the men's changing room door. "Jughead? Jug?! We gotta go. Polly's in labor."

"What?!" Jug's voice came from inside.

"My mom already left. Come on! We need to go now." She said with haste.

"Okay. Okay." He said through the door.

Betty quickly texted Veronica to hide behind the truck if they saw Alice's car driving by while she heard mumblings in the men's changing room. Finally, Jug came out and they ran as fast as they could out of the prison and down the road to the truck where they found Archie in the driver's seat with the vehicle all ready to go. Veronica and Kevin were already in the back of the truck so Jughead and Betty could quickly hop into the front and Archie could drive away, headed to the hospital.


	10. Three Weeks Ago

*Three Weeks Ago*

Alice Cooper had developed a cold from her lack of sleep due to the nights she had stayed up, trying to get the articles about Clifford and Jason Blossom just right. Her throat and head were in immense pain and she had usually always fought through something so minor. But today, for some unknown reason, her depression had also come back with full force. Her depression was something she had had great control over for years, but perhaps the cold made her mind weaker along with her stubborn and sleepless immune system.

So...for the first time in fifteen years, Alice had stayed home from work, sick. She had ordered Polly to stay clear of her bedroom, not wanting the pregnant teen to catch her cold as well. After making herself some soup and a home remedy of tea, lemons, and honey her grandmother had taught her, she climbed back into bed to rest for awhile as Betty went to school and Hal headed to work at the Riverdale Register.

After a long, well-needed nap, Alice sat up in her bed and leaned against the pillows between her and the headboard. She looked through news articles on her phone and trolled some of Betty's classmates on social media about the outfits they wore and the types of inappropriate pictures they posted. When she came across an adorable photo of Betty and Jughead online, she sighed, setting her phone down on the stand beside her bed. Attempting to clear her throat caused her to wince in pain and she remembered that wearing a winter scarf throughout the day would help cure her just a bit faster.

Standing from her bed, she stretched and ran her fingers through her messy hair before turning and leaving her bedroom. She found herself up in the attic, searching for their winter boxes in order to find one of her thick, Tartan scarves. Moving different boxes aside, picking some up and setting them down, she found one of the only ones that had not been labeled. With a hint of nostalgic curiosity, she opened it, taking out pictures and old yearbooks from her and Hal's time at Riverdale High.

It wasn't long before she picked up something she had completely forgotten she had kept. It was a large, yellow, manila envelope that she opened without hesitation, pulling out one of the sheets of paper inside. A little over twenty years ago, she had made a copy of the piece of paper in her hand and as time went on...she had forced herself to forget that she had it.

Alice stared at the copy of the birth certificate and she sat down in the chair behind her. Tears filled her eyes and she let them fall with no effort of stopping them. She read the name of the baby boy she had given up and wondered where he might be. She wondered if he ever found a home with a nice family and feared if he never did. Baby Chic Cooper was one of the only things that had kept her going as a teen and she lost him in almost an instant. The pain in her throat no longer concerned her as the pain in her heart overpowered it.

Reading down the paper, she realized that even without her knowledge, she had memorized it completely.

Date of birth? July 15, 1995. Time of birth? 10:57 PM. Place of Birth? Riverdale General Hospital. Name of Recipient? Chic Dallas Cooper. Mother's Name? Alice Virginia Cooper. Mother's Maiden Name? Smith. Father's Name? Hal J.B. Cooper.

She stopped reading, setting the paper and envelope down in her lap as she cried even harder. That lie. That blatant lie on the birth certificate. She hated doing it. She hated listening to Hal the day he begged her to put himself on the very-permanent form. They both knew who the real father was. They both had fought about it so many times during her pregnancy. Alice would make a snide comment about her boyfriend and Hal would, of course, bring up her ex and how Alice being knocked up by him would only make her parents hate her. So she had to...She had to tell everyone that the father was the popular, Hal Cooper. Part of one of the most renowned families in all of Riverdale.

The Coopers were always seen as the upper class, prominent gold of the town as the Joneses and the Smiths were the scum of it. The Smiths had spent decades trying to change their reputation and for Alice to have married one of the Coopers was the most amazing thing anyone in her family could have done. If any of the Smiths had found out about her baby being a Jones, she would have been disowned from the family and kicked out to live on the streets. But knowing the baby was going to be a Cooper and he would be put up for adoption was seen as incredible and, oddly, brave. Whereas a Jones and Smith baby would have been considered a stupid mistake and the lowest of the low for the town of Riverdale.

The next two days were rough on Alice as she thought about that birth certificate every second. Her cold was practically gone by the third day and she was finally back to work. She'd go and come home. And some days, she was able to fake the largest smile for the girls and Hal. But other days were harder and she found it hard just to breathe. One of the only things she had ever regretted in her entire life, was probably the biggest regret a person could ever encounter. It ate away at her. As did another. Though the second regret was easily fixable. Yet Alice debated if she should fix it or not.

On the fifth day...she made up her mind and instead of driving home after work, she found herself inside Riverdale's police station, standing at the desk. "I came to see FP." She said the minute Sheriff Tom Keller approached her.

"I'm sorry, Alice. You can't." He stepped up to her with his hands on his hips.

"Why can't I?" She wondered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because. He's not here." The gray-haired officer answered.

"What do you mean he's not here?" Alice uncrossed her arms with frustration.

"They took him away yesterday. He's up at the State Penitentiary, Alice. He's probably gonna be there for a long time." With a roll of her eyes, she immediately turned and left, ignoring him as he continued to speak behind her.

She sat in her car in the police station's parking lot for what seemed like an hour, deciding on how she would go through with this. Did she really need to fix this one regret she had? Especially with FP in his current situation, she wondered if it'd be a good idea. Surely he wouldn't want to hear this type of news while in prison?

She made up her mind and found herself following the GPS on her phone to the penal institution just outside of town.

Alice sat on the visitor side of the small glass cubicle while she waited for the guards to return with FP Jones on the other side. She folded her hands on the small table in front of her, listening to all of the sounds of the prison around her. It oddly comforted her hearing the buzzing of different cell doors sliding open and closed. The sounds of chains and keys rattling in officers' pockets was surprisingly soothing and the beeping of the metal detectors where visitors came and went reminded her of school back on the South side as a kid.

Her eyes continued to return to the door in the back corner on the other side of the glass, waiting for it to open. There was a slight cold chill throughout the visitor's corridor and she rubbed her hands together, hoping to warm them up. She looked back at the door on the prisoner's side and it was already open. FP walked in front of a guard with his hands cuffed in front of him. Alice's nerves were suddenly all over the place. Seeing him like this oddly made her feel sentimental in a way.

When he finally made eye contact with her from the door, her adult-self felt indifferent and unsure while her teen-self felt giddy and delighted. She did well at hiding it though, as well as how chilly she truly was by pushing her braless chest against the table in front of her and crossing her arms over it.

The guard led FP over to his glass box and left when he sat down, reaching for the phone on the hook on the wall. It took Alice a moment before she finally found the intrepidity to pick up the receiver on her side as well.

It was silent for a moment and they just looked at each other with the phones to their ears, waiting for the other to talk first. "Alice Cooper." He finally spoke. "Never thought I'd see you here visiting me. Never thought I'd get any visitors actually, if I'm being completely honest."

"Forsythe." She said with her left arm still over her chest.

"Don't call me that." He fought back a nostalgic smirk.

"Never thought I'd see you through one of these windows." She fought back her own smirk. "Well...not on THAT side anyway."

He chuckled. "You always WERE trouble."

"And you did a pretty good job at keeping me out of it...for a while there." She finally let herself smile.

"Well...I thought I'd let someone else have the job after dealing with you for so long. How IS Hal by the way?" He rested his forearm on the table in front of him as well, almost mocking Alice's position. When Alice didn't answer, FP continued. "So...to what do I owe the pleasure, Alice? Have you come here to gloat about my arrest?"

Alice set the phone down with annoyance and said, "Why does everyone think all I do is gloat?"

"What was that?" FP asked, pointing to her hand with the phone in it.

She placed it back over ear and repeated herself. "I said, why does everyone think all I do is gloat?"

He laughed. "Because you do." Alice scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "What DID you come for, Ace?" He called her by her old Serpent nickname and she couldn't help but feel a small warmth come over her.

The warmth didn't last long, however, when she remembered her real purpose for the visit. There was another long pause between the two, where all they could do was look at each other, thinking about the past. "I-" She began to tell him, but immediately stopped as tears tried their best to escape once again. She pulled the phone away from her ear, setting it on her shoulder as she looked away from him for a moment, hoping to regroup herself.

FP's expression softened and he spoke into the phone. "Hey...Hey...Alice?..." He couldn't help but lightly knock on the glass between them, wanting her to put the phone back up to her ear. "Can you hear me? What's going on?" She was eventually able to stop her tears and she looked back to him, putting the receiver up to her ear once again. "Is there something wrong with Jughead? You're scaring me." He admitted.

"No, no." She said quietly, faking a smile. "The kids are fine. They're fine."

FP let out a sigh of relief. "Don't do that to me." He looked down for a second, letting his heartbeat slow back down. "What's up?"

"I, um..." She took in a deep breath and shook her head in a way to flip her hair out of her face, blinking hard enough to demand her tears to stay put as she continued. "I have something that I've wanted to tell you for...twenty-two years." Her heart stopped and she swore it refused to start up again while she looked into his light brown eyes. A sharp pain reached her nose as she knew the tears were not going to obey. Clearing her throat and rubbing her nose to excuse the uncomfortable pain in it, she forced herself to bring it up. "You remember when I got pregnant back in high school?"

"Yeah?" He leaned a bit more onto his left arm on the table in front of him.

"And how you heard me and Hal arguing that night of the prom about...what we would do about it?"

"Vaguely." He lied as he actually remembered it very well.

"Well...there was a reason he wanted me to get rid of it." Well, there goes her heartbeat again! Only now...it was pounding hard enough as if it were trying to get out of her chest. "The, um..." She fought back more tears, blowing air out of her mouth as she found it more difficult to do so. "The baby wasn't his." She straightened her posture, using her left hand to rub her thigh for comfort. She hoped that that was it and that he got it right away without her having to say anymore.

"Okay, well that's-" He began nonchalantly before he halted his speech in realization. It was now his turn for his heart to stop and he looked deep into her piercing blue eyes, feeling her truth. He dropped his head into his left hand as his thumb rubbed his hairline. It was silent again as he slowly lifted his head, his hand running down his face and stopping over his mouth. His thumb now began to rub his mustache stubble while he stared at the table beneath him.

"Please say something." Alice whispered through the phone, growing more and more anxious the longer she watched his reaction to the news.

"Are you-" He covered his mouth, not wanting to cuss, but he did anyway. "Are you fucking kidding me, Alice?" The pain in his face and voice broke a part of her that she had locked up inside years ago. "We-?" He lowered his voice as if everyone around them were eavesdropping. "We have a son together and you never fucking said anything?" He spoke through gritted teeth.

"FP, I-"

"And you gave him up for adoption without my consent?" He interrupted her.

"That didn't mean anything to you back then. You had no idea he was yours. It only means something NOW, because you know." She responded, unintentionally raising an eyebrow.

"How could you not tell me, Alice? How could you let me think that what we had didn't mean shit to you?" He anxiously tapped his fingers on the table.

"FP, I was in a sticky situation, alright? And I don't think that you're one to lecture me about that considering the one you're in right now." She tilted her head to the side a bit as FP looked down again, resting his head in his left hand. "I was a terrified teen, pregnant with someone who wasn't my boyfriend."

He looked up. "Yes, and you were gonna let Hal kill OUR child? MY son?"

"No! I walked out of that abortion clinic the moment the doctor entered the room! I didn't even want to send him away! I wanted to keep him! But he wouldn't let me." She finally let a few tears roll down her cheeks.

His head dropped once more but he still spoke into the phone. "Why are you telling me this NOW?" He wondered with torment. "Just to make me feel worse about everything I'm going through?" He asked with sadness.

"Of course not, Forsythe." She angrily wiped away a tear, hesitating on if she should tell him the other thing or not. She sighed and let it out. "I'm telling you now, because....I want to find him."

Jones lifted his head once more, looking into her eyes with his pained ones and he waited for her to continue.

* * *

 

**_A/N: Hooooo boy! This chapter was so draining for me. I ship these two so hard! Haha Please leave some comments and let me know what you think. I'll post a new chapter as soon as I possibly can. Thank you so much for reading! MWAH!_ **


	11. The Independent and Stubborn Alice Cooper

*Three Weeks Ago*

Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Second held the phone up to his ear with both hands as he gazed at the woman across from him. Alice wiped away her tears and forced an expression of apathy as she waited for him to say something more. He couldn't think of anything. What had his life turned into? If only he could go back. If only he had known Alice was carrying HIS child...He would have married her like he had intended way back when. He wouldn't have let her give up their son. He would've.......

"Why didn't you just give him to me?" He practically whispered.

"You wouldn't have been able to handle a child, FP. Not with everything going on with your father and the Serpents." She put her left arm on the table in front of her once again, sniffling one last time as her emotions calmed down a bit.

"I would have at least tried." He let out a sigh. "I could've moved in with Fred or something."

Alice sighed as well and she looked down at the bottom of the glass between them. Clearing her throat, she fixed her posture and flipped her hair. "I'm gonna work some of my reporter magic."

"And what happens when you find him? Are you gonna bring him here and tell him that his old man is in prison for stashing a dead body?" He looked to his left and then to his right, paranoid that someone was listening in.

"I haven't thought about that yet." She shivered when a chill came over her in the cold room. "But you know what...maybe he'll understand. Maybe he'll get why we had to put him up for adoption if he realizes that it wouldn't have been safe for him here." She tried to justify, hoping he wouldn't hate her for doing what she did. "I just don't want him to think we didn't want him."

"We?" FP sullenly repeated. "No..YOU. Okay, I would've wanted him back then. Don't bring up 'we' when all you were thinking about was yourself and your precious Hal!"

"FP-" She started before he interrupted her.

"No...No. You don't get to come here and tell me this NOW, while you're all high and mighty with your picture-perfect family dressed in baby-blue and powerpuff-girl-pink. Alright?" He turned and nodded at the guard standing by the door. "I'm done." He hung up the phone on the wall beside him before standing. He looked down at Alice, who stared straight ahead, refusing to look up at him while he waited for the security guard to take him away.

When he was finally gone, she closed her eyes with guilt and frustration before setting the phone down on the table for a moment. With her eyes still closed, she pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh before putting the phone back up on the hook and standing to leave.

That evening, Alice found it hard to focus on anything. She'd almost burnt dinner and she poured milk out onto the counter when she paid no attention to where the glass was. Hal eventually noticed how flustered she seemed and he made a note to ask her what was going on later that night.

Mr. and Mrs. Cooper sat up in bed, Hal checked his Facebook on his phone and Alice read one of her books with her glasses on. Eventually, he noticed that she hadn't turned a single page for about fifteen minutes. "Are you alright? You've been staring at that sentence for almost a decade." He chuckled beside her. Alice sighed and closed it, setting it on the nightstand and taking off her glasses. "What's going on? I've seen that look before. Something's on your mind."

"Oh...it's nothing." She lied, staring straight ahead at a family photo on the wall from when the girls were about seven and eight.

"'Nothing' makes you pour a glass of milk onto the counter?" He set his phone down on the stand beside him and folded his hands in his lap. "Alice...talk to me."

She tilted her head to the side, debating. Pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, she turned to face him. "I...I think I wanna find Chic." She almost whispered. The look of concern on Hal's face changed to aggravation. "I know that-"

"Alice...we've spoken about this. Alright?" He reached for her hand beside him and held it between them. "We couldn't find him as a child because we were in a closed adoption and...He's a full grown adult now. There's nothing that we, as parents, could even do for him anymore."

His wife pulled her hand away from his. "That's not your decision. YOU are not his parent." She laid down, facing away from him.

Hal watched her turn over with vexation and he curled his mouth to one side, angered. Looking at the back of her head, he spoke. "No...but you are my wife and I expect you to respect my wishes." He laid down flat on his back, staring at the ceiling before shutting off the lamp beside him. He folded his hands on top of his chest. "We are not looking for him and that's final."

"Pfft! Whatever, Hal." She reached up, turning off the lamp on her side before angrily pulling the blanket up over her right shoulder.

Hal sighed before closing his eyes and attempting to fall asleep while Alice lay awake for most of the night, knowing she wasn't going to listen to him.

*Three Days Later*

An exhausted Alice mentally beat herself in the driver's seat of her car as she pulled up to the prison once again. What was she doing there? Why had she insisted on telling FP? With the knowledge that this visit couldn't end in more of disaster than last time...IF he even accepted her visitation, she took a deep breath and opened her car door.

"Nice to see you again, ma'am." One of the female guards said when Alice walked into the women's changing room station. "Would you like us to keep your coat or would you-"

"I'd prefer to wear it this time, thanks." Alice rudely answered almost immediately. "I don't know why you people insist on keeping it so freezing cold in this place."

"The temperature in here is not part of our job, ma'am." The guard used her metal detector wand on Alice, who stood with her arms straight out.

Mrs. Cooper rolled her eyes and sighed, waiting for the long procedure to be finished before she could finally go in to see FP.

"Surprised to see me again?" She asked him when he shook his head, picking up the phone.

"Not at all. You're very persistent." He rolled his own eyes. "What now?"

"I, um...I need some help." She hesitated to admit it.

"Really? The independent Alice Cooper? Needing my help?" He chuckled. "I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"FP, leave your derogatory remarks for someone else, okay? I didn't wanna come here anymore than you wanted me to." She sat up in her chair, tapping her finger nails on the table.

"Go on then." FP leaned back in his chair, waiting to hear her request.

"Do you...know anyone in the Serpents nowadays that can do some good digging?" She wondered, quietly.

"What are you talking about? I thought you were the best at that?" He put his left arm over his chest and under his right underarm.

"I am!" She gloated before briefly losing the cockiness in her expression. "But...I can't find anything."

"YOU?" He leaned forward again. "You can't find ANYTHING?"

Almost embarrassed, Alice responded. "Anything. It's almost like he never existed."

"Are you serious?"

"No, FP." She replied with sarcasm. "I just made that up so I could come down here and look at your ruggedly handsome face again...Yes, I'm serious!"

FP couldn't help but smirk, letting out a soft chuckle as he looked down at his arm, leaning against the table. "You still think I'm handsome?" He teased, looking back up at her.

"Be serious, please?" She demanded without a change in her manner.

"Alright, alright. Look....there IS someone." He quieted down to a hushed tone.

"Who? Can you give me an address or a phone number?" She wondered, anxiously.

"No. No. I will call him. Okay? You really don't wanna be messing with this guy, alright? Especially if you don't wanna ruin your family's lives?" He looked to one of the officers nearby before looking back to his ex on the other side of the glass. "Listen...I'll pull some strings and see if I can get one of the guards to give me a free phone call. Come back tomorrow, and I'll give you everything I know."

"Are you sure about this?" She asked with a whisper.

"Yeah, yeah. The guy owes me a favor anyway." He softly smiled.

"Thanks, FP." She felt her heart pounding with the anticipation that she could potentially be meeting her son soon.

"No problem." He replied with a hint of pain. He looked at her hopeful eyes and his heart sank. He suddenly couldn't help but wish to be on the other side of the glass. With her.

* * *

 

_**A/N: GUYS!!!!!! DID YOU SEE LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE???? OMG THE WHOLE SHERIFF KELLER THING WAS.......OMG!!!!! Anyway...had to get that out. Haha Sorry I didn't update the last two days. We still have family here from out of town so I've been trying to spend time with them instead of being cooped (pun intended lol) up in my room writing all day long. Thanks for being so patient with me. I hope you liked this chapter. I may get to update again later tonight because I'll be home alone for a little while. Please leave comments and reviews. You know that I live off of them. x'D Oh! And....NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE MAY CONTAIN FALICE SO GET READY FOR MY FUNERAL!** _


	12. Newcomers

*Present Day*

Betty, Jughead, Kevin, Veronica, and Archie all rushed through the double doors, entering Riverdale General Hospital. They made their way to the maternity ward where they found Hal and Alice standing at the counter. Polly sat in a wheel chair between them. She tried her best to breathe through the pain, though every now and then she would wince, squeezing the arm of the chair. When the teens arrived, they could tell that Alice and the head nurse had been in the middle of a pretty heated discussion.

"Well...my daughter needs a room, Rosa. So I suggest you figure it out." Mrs. Cooper stood with her arms crossed over her chest as they watched the agitated nurse turn away from them to find the head doctor.

"Hey, Polly." Betty said in a soft, gentle voice, kneeling beside her sister almost immediately.

"Where the hell have you been?" Hal wondered as he and his wife turned to see their youngest arrive.

"We-" Betty began.

"Your father has been calling all over town to find you." Her mother interrupted.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, you can blame me." Veronica jumped in.

"Well, there's no shocker there!" Alice gave her hair a small flip with attitude.

Ronnie continued with indignation. "I wanted us all to go have a little picnic by Sweet Water River, but then Betty got the call from you and-"

"Say no more, Veronica Lodge." Alice put one hand on her hip. "We're used to your bad influences upon our daughter."

"Enough. Alright?" Betty stood up, keeping her hand in Polly's. "We're here now. Okay? We made it on time. There's no need for little speeches about your disappointment in me as a daughter."

"Betty, I-"

"No. Alright? I don't wanna hear it. Today is not the day for this." She smiled down at Polly. "My big sister is gonna have twins." She turned to smile at her best friends behind her. "And these twins are going to come into this world with the feeling that there is love all around them."

"You're right, Betty." Hal stepped forward, kissing Elizabeth on the cheek. "You're right."

"I'm just glad you could make it." Polly said as sweat began to form on her forehead and she winced in pain once more.

The nurse returned with a clipboard and waved her hand at them to follow her. All seven of them took a step forward, Betty pushing the wheel chair. But before they could take their second step, the nurse stopped them. "Ah ah! I'm afraid we can only let two of you come along."

"Well, then that would be us." Alice said, looking over her shoulder at her husband.

"We're the parents." Hal chimed in and the nurse nodded.

"No." Polly protested. "I'm not going in without Betty."

"Well, I'm sorry, young lady but that's just-"

"It's okay." Hal put a hand on the curve of his wife's back. "You girls go ahead." He smiled down at Polly. "I'm not so sure I'd wanna be in there for all the gross stuff again anyway." His eldest chuckled before he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and all three Cooper women went through another set of double doors.

Hours had passed and Kevin's father had picked him up, followed by Archie's dad and then Veronica's parents. Alice came out into the waiting room once or twice to let Hal know that the babies were taking their own sweet time and she'd disappear back into the forbidden area. After he had finished pacing, Hal sat down beside Jughead, who had nowhere else to be.

"Hey, Jughead." He said when he noticed the teen had been day dreaming for some time.

"Oh." Jones sat up, blinking out of his daze and looking to the man beside him. "Hello, Mr. Cooper. How are you holding up?"

"I guess I'm hanging in there. But what about you?" Hal wondered.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I don't know what you mean."

"I mean...now, I don't mean to pry...but how are you holding up with everything that's going on with your dad?" He crossed his left leg over his right, resting his ankle upon his knee.

"Oh, uh....I'm fine, I guess. Just really hoping his lawyer comes through." He blew air out of his mouth. "Clifford Blossom really screwed everything up for this town, didn't he?"

"Well..." Hal looked away, watching patients, nurses, and doctors go by. "He didn't do it alone."

"What do you mean?" Juggy asked, turning a bit in his seat.

"I mean...this town started falling apart back when the Serpents started to take over all of the Southside and eventually they influenced more violence and more gang memberships, which soon led to the need for drugs, thus birthing the Blossom Maple Syrup Industry turning into something my grandfather strongly frowned upon." He looked back to Jughead who stared at him with intensity.

"So much so that he changed his name to Cooper?" He remembered the story his girlfriend told him about her great grandfather. Hal nodded. "So...you blame the Serpents for the introduction to the drugs here?" Hal didn't answer, but the look on his face did for him. "Meaning you partially blame the Serpents for your grandfather's murder?" Jughead assumed, starting to get the picture.

"If 'partially' is the right word, then yes." Betty's dad uncrossed his leg and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

"So...I take it you're not a fan of my father?" The teen's heart began to beat a bit faster.

"I've known your father for some time. And he's a good guy. He really is. He just...he'd be better if-"

"If he weren't a Serpent." Jones finished for him.

"Exactly." Hal sat up straight again. "Don't get me wrong...I know that ever since he became their king or emperor or whatever it is they call him...he's helped the Serpents get a better reputation, but it still doesn't justify all of the bad that they've done in the past. Especially to..." He stopped talking when he realized he had spoken a bit too long.

"To whom?" Jughead asked, studying Hal beside him. "To....Mrs. Cooper?" He was suddenly whispering.

Shocked, Hal's head quickly turned to the young man and his jaw dropped to say something. But...

"Hal." Alice's voice came from one of the double doors and she stood there with an exhausted smile on her face. Her hair was a bit disheveled and she seemed relieved. Both Hal and Jughead stood. "You can see them now."

Her husband and her daughter's boyfriend both smiled before heading toward her. When they started to Polly's room, she suddenly stopped, turning to face them. "What?" Hal wondered.

"Jughead, could you please call Cheryl and let her and her mother know that the babies have arrived?" Hal sighed, opening his mouth to protest, but Alice put up a hand to silence him. "Polly is in room 307." When Juggy nodded, she smiled, ignoring the look on Hal's face. "Thank you." She said to Jug before turning to lead her husband to their daughter. Jughead went back to the waiting room to call the Blossoms.

When the Coopers reached the room, the eager grandfather tried to surpass Alice, but she stopped him at the door. "Alice, what-"

She began to whisper. "Now...there was some trouble with the boy. She came out fine, but she kicked her brother back in and when she did, he turned sideways, so he was stuck for a while and when they finally got him out, he wasn't breathing."

"Oh my God. Why didn't you come tell me?" He tried to walk into the room, but she put a hand on his chest, forcing him to stay in the hallway.

"Because he's okay now. They were able to resuscitate him...I just thought you should know." She took her hand away from his chest.

"And Polly? She's okay?" Hal wondered.

Alice hesitated to answer before she weakly smiled. "She's perfect." They stood for a moment, staring at each other with disbelief.

"We're grandparents now." Hal whispered with actual tears of joy in his eyes.

"We're grandparents now!" Alice repeated and they both laughed before wrapping their arms around each other and he stopped himself from lifting her off the ground, knowing she hated it when he did that. When they pulled out of the hug, Alice wiped away a stray tear. "Go on." She pointed to the room behind her and moved aside, letting him in.

Betty sat in a chair, holding the girl and Polly held the boy, sitting up in the bed beside her. "Hey." Polly grinned when Hal entered the room.

"Hey. How are you doing?" He whispered, unaware if the babies were asleep or not.

Polly sighed. "I'm in pain...and I'm tired." She chuckled. "But I'm good."

"Do you wanna hold her?" Betty wondered, slowly standing.

"Of course." He spoke leisurely as if everything around them had slowed down.

"Mom?" Polly called to the woman by the door. "Do you wanna take him for a little bit? I need a nap."

Without a word, Alice stepped over to her daughter's hospital bed, leaning over to take the petite infant from her. "Have you settled on names yet?" She finally asked.

"Yes, but Mom..." Polly began. "...you can't hate them, alright? And even if you do, I'm keeping them anyway."

Alice's small smile vanished. "Understood."

"Dad..." She turned to her father. "You're holding Gemini Elizabeth Cooper-Blossom." She sent Betty a smirk for the middle name and Betty tried not to cry. Polly turned to her mother. "Mom...that's little Jason Sebastian in your arms."

Alice briefly tilted her head to the side as she looked down at her tired daughter. "Polly...those are both wonderful names."

"Really? You're not just saying that?" The new mother leaned her head back against the pillow behind her.

"No. But..." Betty rolled her eyes and Polly sadly sighed. "I just...I'm curious." She slowly swayed with the baby in her arms. "Why Gemini?"

"I don't know. I just like it." Polly yawned, closing her eyes as she continued to speak, her voice slowly trailing off as she did. "She's a twin and her father was a twin, so I thought it'd be..........." The rest of her words were garbled and the others giggled to themselves while she dozed off.

"I like it." Her mother finally said and they all saw a hint of a smile upon Polly's face before she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

 

**_A/N: Hey, guys....I'm really sorry it took so long to update. I had a small case of writer's block, but I think I got rid of it. Lol I'm also sorry if the names are too corny. Sometimes I love the cheese factor and adding sappy moments. Let me know what you think in the comments. Love you all. MWAH!_ **


	13. Exhausted

That night, Betty found it hard to leave Polly and the babies overnight, but her mother insisted considering she still had school the next day. Alice stayed at the hospital while Hal drove Betty home and they both did their best to get a good night's rest. The excitement from the babies was almost too much to handle and Betty found it hard to sleep, thinking about the fact that she was an aunt now as well as a godmother. Hal still couldn't believe that he was a grandfather to two babies already. He found it hard to sleep as he was constantly wondering if Polly and the babies were safe. Eventually, both grandfather and aunty fell asleep.

The next morning, Betty dragged herself out of bed. She took a quick shower to wake herself up and forced herself to change into clothes appropriate enough for school. Too lazy to put her hair up all the way, she pulled it to one side and placed a hair tie around it, letting it fall naturally upon her left shoulder. Looking at herself in the mirror, she slouched a bit, disappointed in her appearance as the plain long sleeved shirt, blue in color, and jeans did not show much effort. Her exhausted and stressed persona was beginning to show through her facade and she sighed, finally remembering why she'd been so stressed in the first place. The babies had taken her mind off of the strenuous few weeks she'd been having for only a day. Just before she turned away from the mirror, she remembered her mother's mysterious visitations to, apparently, FP Jones at the prison.

With another yawn, Betty put a hand to her forehead before looking at the clock and realizing she needed to leave soon. She headed down to the kitchen for something for breakfast, though she had absolutely no appetite anymore. Sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen, she looked at her phone. There was a text message from Cheryl Blossom stating how she and her mummy did not appreciate almost being forgotten when the news of Polly's labor began to circle town, making it to them before Jughead's call last night. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and decided not to respond, knowing that soon, she was going to explode and probably send out a mass text to everyone in her contacts to never speak to her again.

Just as she locked her phone and set it down, the front door opened and Alice Cooper walked in. She let out a tired yawn before making her way to the staircase. "Have a good day at school, sweetie." She said with her eyes half open. "I'm going up to sleep for a few hours before I head in to work with your father."

"Wait...Mom? Can I talk to you for a second?" Betty asked, standing from her stool and turning her body to face Alice.

"Hmm?" Alice sleepily leaned an arm against the railing to the stairs. When Betty noticed that her mother was about to fall asleep right there, she changed her mind, looking at her in silence. "What is it, Betty? I'm really tired. Those hospital chairs are impossible to sleep in." She spoke almost as if she were drunk. "I now know how your father felt with you three."

Betty's eyes widened when she said 'you three' as she was still not used to Alice's openness about her secret brother, something she assumed was due to her mother's lack of sleep. "Nevermind. We can talk later. You go to bed."

Alice sighed and turned, slowly ascending the stairs. "Goodnight, Betty." Her exhaustion spoke, forgetting it was morning. "I love you."

Betty stared at the wall behind her mom with her hands tied together in front of her chest. She spoke, almost to herself. "I love you too, Mom." When her mother was out of sight, she sighed again and grabbed her school bag, not in the mood for food.

After school, Jughead invited the whole friend group over to FP's trailer. This time Reggie, Josie, Melody, and Valerie joined as well as Toni Topaz from the Southside.

"Hey. What's up with Barbie?" Toni whispered to Archie in the kitchen, nodding toward Betty on the couch.

"Nothing. I think she's just a little tired from yesterday." The redhead replied, reached for the soda from the fridge.

"Why? What was yesterday?" She wondered, drinking for her glass.

"Her sister had twins." He answered, pouring Veronica a glass.

"So why is SHE exhausted?" She chuckled to herself.

"Because she was in the delivery room and didn't get home till late last night." He finished pouring the glass and put the top back on the soda bottle before setting it back into the fridge.

When Toni nodded, Archie headed back into the living room, handing his girlfriend her cup and sat on the arm of the chair she was in. "So...I was thinking that after the bridge in 'Shapeshifter' that Josie and I could harmonize like we did in 'Real Deal.'" Veronica suggested after thanking Archie for the drink.

"No, no." Melody jumped in. "That's where Val basically improvises on keyboard. It'd mess up the whole second verse."

"Hey, Pussycats." Jughead spoke from the floor in front of Betty. "Why don't you put the claws away for now and just have fun for a little bit? No work?" He smiled at them.

"He's right, guys." Valerie chuckled. "You three never know when to take a break, do you?"

Josie gave her a smirk. "Well...sometimes music IS my break...from school AND my mother." They all laughed except for Betty, who stared at the cup in her hand.

"You alright over there?" Toni asked her herself, thinking that something more serious was wrong than what Archie had told her.

"B?" Veronica noticed her best friend's silence.

Snapping out of her daze, the blonde looked to Veronica and smiled with her eyes closed. "Yeah." She let out a silly laugh. "I'm just really tired."

"I would be too, if I had to sit there and watch babies come out my sister's vagi-"

"Kevin!" Veronica interrupted.

"What?" He laughed when V shook her head and everyone else laughed with him.

"Yeah, Betty. Why don't you go take a nap on my dad's bed?" Juggy offered, turning to face her from the floor. He put his hands on her knees and gently rubbed them with his thumb. When she didn't answer, he stood and put his hands out in front of her, offering to help her stand. "Come on." She sighed and accepted, grabbing his hands and following him away from the small living room.

"Sorry I'm so lame, guys." She choked out with an embarrassed giggle and they all let her know that she was fine and that they understood.

She took about an hour long nap and when her eyes slowly blinked open, she laid there for a while, just staring at the ceiling and listening to her friends laugh outside of the room. Their laughter somewhat comforted her and she took it all in, almost using it as strength to help her sit up. With a big stretch, she felt her disheveled hair and pulled out the hair tie to fix her low-side pony tail. Just as she turned her head to put it in again, she saw some of FP's belongings on the nightstand beside her.

Her eyes weren't fully focused yet and she squinted, trying her best to read one of the bottles. Letting her hair fall loose again, she let the hair tie return to her wrist before reaching over to pick up the bottle of cologne near the bedside lamp. She held it closer to her face and read the brand. 'Calvin Klein.'

Suddenly, Betty heard Hal's voice in her head from when they discussed Alice's pregnancies. _"She cried...all the time. Certain smells would get her. I was never allowed to wear Calvin Klein cologne."_

What an odd coincidence....Or was it?

There was a quiet knock and Betty, startled a little, took in a deep breath as she looked up at Veronica in the bedroom doorway. "Hey." The brunette said.

"Um...hi." Betty set the cologne back on the nightstand and took the blanket off of her lap before standing.

"Are you more awake now, Bettykins?" The Lodge girl stepped toward Betty.

"Definitely." Elizabeth responded, taking Ronnie's hand when it was offered to her.

"Good." Her best friend spoke as they made their way out in the living room. "Because we all decided that it'd be really cool if we all went and visited Polly and babies in the hospital before they go home tonight. Are you in?"

Betty stopped in the kitchen, looking at all of her friends, standing there and looking at her with excitement and hope on their faces. The love in the room was somehow overwhelming to her, almost as if she had forgotten what that had felt like as so much love no longer existed in her own house. Pulling at the end of her sleeves, she couldn't help but feel teary eyed, though she fought it and said, "I'm in."


	14. Confusion

When Archie and the gang arrived at the hospital, they were greeted by Betty's parents who obviously had the same idea to visit Polly. Walking through the building, they all felt an odd atmosphere as it seemed the entirety of the staff and visitors were staring at them. Some smiled, some smirked, some scowled, and some shook their heads in disappointment.

Josie curled her mouth to the side as she spoke so only Reggie could hear her. "Your nudes didn't get leaked again, did they?"

"Not that I know of." He whispered in response when they passed the waiting room.

"Mom...Dad." Betty said, approaching her sister's room. "What's going on?" She brought flowers for Polly and handed them to her father who set them down on the stand beside his daughter's bed. "Everyone was staring at us when we came in." She added.

"Didn't you hear the news?" Alice fought back a smile as she walked over to Betty and put both hands on her shoulders, though she looked at Jughead behind the blonde. "FP's getting out of jail."

"Wait! What?" Jughead stepped forward. "Are you serious? When?"

"We don't know." Hal said from farther into the room. "The judge said sometime within the next couple weeks."

Archie and Kevin stepped closer to Juggy, putting their hands on his back for support. "Are you sure?" He wondered. "How did you hear about this?"

"That doesn't matter now." Alice brushed off before stepping back to stand with Hal again. "What matters is that you can probably return to the Northside once he gets out." Betty swore she heard a mixture of contentment and sorrow in her mother's tone, but she ignored it, taking hold of Juggy's arm beside her and smiling up at him. "You can finally leave the Southside and get away from those-"

"What?" Toni stepped forward as well. "Those what?"

"Toni..." Jughead began in a calming voice.

"No...She's got something to say about the Southside. What is it?" She took another step forward, lining up with Betty and Jughead, who were in front of the group.

"Nothing." Betty spoke up.

"And just who the hell are you?" Alice wondered with a scowl that hid a hint of a smirk.

"Mom." Betty shook her head and opened her mouth to say something else when she was interrupted.

"No, no, Elizabeth." Alice put a hand up, taking a step forward. "Little Miss Thing here can answer the question." She couldn't help but let a large smug grin grow across her face. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Toni Topaz." The teen stood with her arms over her chest.

"Ah." Alice's smile grew even more. "Topaz." She slightly nodded. "As in Beau Topaz?" When Toni did not respond, Alice stepped a little closer. "Yes, I know your father." She crossed her arms over her chest as well. "You better watch your tone with me, girl. Let me guess...you're a Serpent. Right?" She paused for an answer, which she did not receive when Toni rolled her eyes away from the older woman. Alice smiled. "Yeah. I thought so. Don't tempt me, young lady. I know things about your family that could easily make their way into our local newspaper."

There was a long awkward silence as all bystanders uncomfortably shifted their eyes about the room while Alice and Toni stared each other down. Finally, Toni tsked and rolled her eyes once more, turning away from Mrs. Cooper and walking out of the room. A prideful grin grew upon Betty's mother's face and she straightened her posture before turning around to rejoin her husband beside Polly's hospital bed.

"Wait...So my dad really IS coming home?" Jughead broke the silence. Alice nodded. "Do you know why?"

With a shrug, she responded. "Apparently there were a few dents in his case. I don't know. The judge said that some things just didn't add up and when he heard about Clifford Blossom using you as a threat, he thought it seemed as though FP was forced into hiding the body and keeping it a secret."

"That's...good news, Jughead." Archie said from behind his best friend.

"It's amazing news." Betty smiled, hugging tight to her boyfriend's arm. He seemed confused at first, but soon, his face held a smile as well and the whole gang cheered in their own way before patting Juggy on the back. "So... can we see the babies?" Betty wondered.

"Yes, of course. They're in the Nursery around the corner." Polly pointed and they all turned to head out and look through the glass window at the twins.

&%&%&%&%&&%&%&%&%&%&&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

The Coopers, including Polly and the twins, arrived at their exemplary home that evening realizing just how much was about to change. The babies had fallen asleep in the car and it already seemed as though they wouldn't sleep much through the night, though all four Coopers prayed that wouldn't be the case. Polly and Betty took one baby each and headed up to Polly's room, which now contained a crib, her own bed, and a changing table. Hal and Alice stayed downstairs to fix supper and the girls gently set the infants down to sleep.

They stayed in Polly's room for a while, looking at her children and talking about their beauty and motherhood and how much of Jason they could see in each one. Eventually, they were called down to dinner and Polly grabbed the baby monitor, following Betty to the dining room.

Betty ate in silence while the other three gushed about the new additions to the family . The youngest smiled every once in a while, wondering if things would get better now that they had the twins in the house. She already noticed a difference in Polly, like an after-shine. Hal couldn't stop saying that he was a grandpa and Alice expressed her gratefulness to have babies around again. She already seemed like the typical grandma who refused to accept that the infants would soon be toddlers, who would soon be children, who would soon be teenagers and so on.

Elizabeth found her emotions to be a bit extensive and sovereign. They were everything from wonderful to deceitful, from proud to disappointed, from loving to confused. Like a tornado trapping debris inside itself, her head and heart seemed to spin with questions. She was supposed to be happy, right? She was now an aunt to two beautiful twins. Her boyfriend's father was coming home, so Jughead could return to Riverdale High to be with her, right? No more dealings with Serpents or delinquents. Her mother and father would spend every moment smiling, right? They were content grandparents now. She and her sister Polly would never be separated again, right? She was now home and happy. What was it? What were the clouds that circled above in this moment? What was the poking thorn on the rose bush?

"Elizabeth? What's wrong?" The sound of Alice's voice caused the youngest to snap out of her peculiar state.

In all of her reminiscing and analyzing, Betty had not realized the tears and sobs that had physically broke down her door.

"Are you okay, Betty?" Polly asked with extreme concern.

She sniffled, picking her head up and wiping away her tears. "I'm fine." She faked a smile and laughed, trying not to seem ridiculous or hysterical. "It's just-" She stopped. Did she want to finally get it off her chest? Did she want to bring up her mother's odd-doings? Did she want to open the giant can of worms that was her parents' relationship quandary? Her mother reached over, putting a comforting hand upon hers. Betty looked down at it, only feeling more confused by Alice's mood swings toward the family. Looking up into the eyes of the woman filled with dozens of secrets, she kept her own emotions to herself. Smiling, she finally spoke. "I can't believe I'm an aunt." She lied, biting her lower lip.

"Awwwwww!" The other three exclaimed while Alice let go of her hand with a grin. "We can't believe it either, sweetheart." Mrs. Cooper looked at her husband across from her and the moment he winked, she felt her heart jump with its own abashment. Sighing to herself, she looked down at the pork chop on her plate and continued to cut into it, taking one of her last few bites.

Suddenly, there was a cry on the baby monitor. "There it is." Hal chuckled, knowing the silence wouldn't have lasted too long.

"They're probably hungry. Honey, do you want me to go up with you? You'll feed Gemini while I get Jason?" Alice asked, pushing her chair back, ready to stand.

"Alice, if you don't mind...I'd like to go up and feed Jason." Hal offered, causing Alice to halt her movement in shock. He stood immediately, heading to the stove to grab both readied baby bottles.

"Yeah." Polly smiled, standing as well. "I'd like that." She took the bottle her father offered her and they both headed up the stairs.

Still a bit in shock at her husband, Alice eventually moved her chair closer to the table again and she finished the rest of her dinner, taking a sip of wine before standing with her empty plate. She rinsed it off in the sink before sitting back down, diagonally from her youngest. She let out a small chuckle. "Hm...I don't think your father ever offered to help feed you girls when you were babies." Betty was still silent, chewing almost slower than a cow while she stared at the table in front of her. When her mother reached for her glass of wine once more, her arm stopped mid-air when she saw the note Betty had written on her napkin while she rinsed off her plate.

 _"We need to talk,"_ it read in quick, sloppy handwriting. Alice looked back to Betty who refused to look at her and she took the napkin off the table, crumpling it up and placing it in her lap.

"We've got time." Alice whispered, looking up at the empty staircase, hearing the voices of Hal and Polly upstairs. "Talk."

* * *

 

_**A/N: OMG GUYSSSSSSSS!!!! SEASON 2, EPISODE 8 KILLED MY FALICE SHIPPER HEART! I won't give away any spoilers to those who haven't seen it yet, but hoooooooo boyyyyy! Are you in for a treat when you see it and realize all of the Falice they gave us! I feel so blessed as a fan atm! This might be my first EVER (live/airing televison) OTP to actually sail! I'm so excited and scared at the same time. Lol Idk how to process happiness from something I want to happen on a show actually happening! Hahaha I hope you like the chapter. Also....now the fic is gonna start deviating away from the show A LOT considering things are significantly different without the Black Hood in this fic. So...just let me know if you have any questions when (if you're watching the show air) things start to get garbled in here. Thanks so much for reading! Love you all! MWAH!** _


	15. Digging

Betty's heart began to pound harder than it ever had before when she wondered exactly what she could say without the conversation flipping around on her into some punishment about her skipping school. Knowing she had very little time to think of a great opening sentence, she decided to go with the first safe thing she could think of. "How did you know about FP getting out of jail?"

"What does it matter?" They both raised an eyebrow at each other and Alice went on. "I'm a reporter, Betty. I'm good at digging and finding out things before anyone else does."

"And how does one go about this digging?" Betty asked in a stern, but quiet voice.

Her mother pursed her lips before quickly thinking up a response. "A great magician never reveals her secrets." 

Walking on eggshells, afraid of what might come out of her own mouth next, Betty tried her best to cleverly switch the topic. "Speaking of secrets.....where have you been going after work everyday for three weeks, Mom?" 

"That's none of your business." This back and forth was suddenly becoming suspicious to Mrs. Cooper as she could tell by the familiar look on Betty's face...her daughter was digging as well. "Why?" She leaned back in her chair at the dining room table, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because I think I have a pretty good idea as to where you've been. Though I can't seem to put my finger on to why." Elizabeth sat up in her chair.

"Why what?"

"Why you've been there and what you've been doing there." The youngest looked toward the staircase when she swore she heard one of the other two coming. She was relieved when no one came and looked back to her skeptical mother.

"Where is it you think I've been going, Elizabeth?" Alice squinted with a tiny smirk, actually amused that Betty thought she knew. Her own curiosity took over her.

Betty sighed, sitting up straight and leaning her crossed arms on the table in front of her. "I think you've been going to visit FP in prison." Her heart pounded even faster and harder when she saw her mother's smug smirk vanish while a scowl replaced it. 

"Why would you accuse me of-"

"I'm not accusing you of anything, Mother....I'm ASKING you..." Betty tried her best to hide that she was beginning to feel very hot. "Have you....been going to visit FP?" 

Alice looked away from Betty, unsure if she should be proud of her daughter's smarts or ashamed of her daughter's deep desire to dig whenever necessary. "So what if I was, Betty? It's not a crime visiting an old friend going through a tough time in jail."

"What do you mean...a 'tough' time? Is he okay?" Betty slouched in her chair again, suddenly concerned for Juggy.

"Yes, Elizabeth. He's fine. I just meant...that...you know what? It doesn't matter. I don't have to tell you everything I do or don't do. Okay? I'M the mother here." She reached over to pick up her glass of wine, pulling it to her mouth. Just before it touched her lips, she glared at her daughter and spoke again. "When were you planning on telling your father and I about skipping school three days ago?" She raised an eyebrow while brazenly taking a sip from her glass, never breaking eye contact with her, now very red, daughter.

"You...know about that?" The 16 year old asked, frightened.

Setting down the wine glass, Alice leaned her arms on the table as well. "Of course I know, Betty. You don't think when an off duty Sheriff Keller drives by Sunnyside Trailer Park and sees you and your boyfriend outside during school hours that he won't call me and let me know?" Betty opened her mouth to say something, but Alice interrupted. "Like I said...I'M the parent here and you're going to tell me how many times you've snuck off with that boy to do God knows what!" When Betty's eyes widened and no sound could escape her open mouth, Alice continued. "You weren't-"

"No, Mom!" She finally choked out. "It was nothing like that, alright." Knowing that what she was about to say was probably the worst decision right now, Betty swallowed her fear and let it out anyway. "You really wanna know what we were doing three days ago, Mom?" 

"Please...tell me." Her mother leaned back in her chair once more. "Oh! And while you're at it...you could let me know why you were nowhere to be found after school yesterday."

"We were spying, Mom." She finally confessed with a confident voice, though her thoughts and feelings were anything BUT confident. "On you."

"Excuse me?" Alice's voice suddenly dropped, aghast. It was almost as if she'd been caught and horrified at the same time. 

Betty began to speak quieter again, remembering the other two could come down at any moment. "Yeah." She nodded. "We followed you all day...to Cheryl's house to get Jason's things, where we found out that APPARENTLY you used to be a Serpent and then we followed you down the road to the middle of nowhere where, unfortunately, FP's truck ran out of gas."

"FP's truck?" The look on Alice's face changed from horrified to furious.

"Yes." Betty quickly continued the story. "And since we ran out of gas, we lost you. So we came back...I went grocery shopping...came home and made dinner. The next day, Veronica, Archie, Jug, Kevin and I left right after school to follow you again. And, well...long story short...I was in the stall right next to you at the prison a couple days ago."

"Elizabeth Susan Cooper." 

"And....why the hell do you have a bra in the glove compartment to your car, Mom?" The moment her mouth stopped moving, Betty felt her mother's wrath coming. She didn't mean to say so much all at once, nor at all. It was like she couldn't control it. The words just kept flowing right out of her like an overflowing closet door that had finally been broken open. 

When her mother attempted to speak, they heard laughter from the bedroom upstairs and they both looked up to make sure no one was approaching. When it seemed they were in the clear, Alice sent the most terrifying eyes to the blonde diagonally beside her. She pointed at her while she spoke. "Now, you listen to me, Elizabeth...Don't you EVER take that tone with me again, because trust me you have NOT seen me at my worst. You thought Mama Cooper was harsh with Polly?" She let out a laugh that caused the hair on the back of Betty's neck to stand up. "No, no, Betty." She leaned forward, letting her crossed arms rest upon the table once more. "Mama Coop can be a lot worse. I promise you, she can." She put a hand over Betty's on the table, squeezing it just a bit too hard. "Do you understand your mother, Miss Betty?" 

Looking down at her hand and away from her mother's sinister eyes, Betty gulped. The tone in her mother's voice was one she had never heard before...nor had she ever heard Alice speak in the third person either. "Yes, ma'am." She was sure that was the first time she'd ever said those two words to her mother, ever and she felt the mood in the room change almost instantly. 

Alice let go of Betty's hand and leaned back in the chair again, almost like a different person had left her body and she was Alice once again. "Now...are you telling me that you or Jughead DROVE FP's truck without a license?" Betty looked at her with fear, too shocked to answer. "Betty, you two could've seriously been hurt? What were you thinking?" Her daughter shook her head, not wanting to speak and trying her best to forget the woman she just spoke to. It was like...what Chuck had called her after the hot tub incident...it was like...she had just seen Dark Alice. "And about the bra..." Alice continued. Betty, snapping out of her thoughts realized she missed half of what her mother was saying. "If you're telling the truth and you really WERE there at the prison...then you know about the whole visitation procedure where you take your bra off and blah blah blah."

"Right." Betty awkwardly responded with a nod.

"Well...those idiot guards lost one of my good ones and almost lost my wedding ring. It was horrible...I had to drive home bra-less and that's why I didn't go to the store for the groceries that day. SO....in order to stop that from happening again, I keep a spare in the glove compartment in case those absent-minded officers 'misplace' my Victoria's Secret again." She stood up, taking Betty's plate and Polly's and brought them over to the sink before circling back for Hal's. Standing at the island in the center of the kitchen, she leaned against it, looking down at Betty in the dining room. "I don't appreciate your boyfriend encouraging this type of behavior, Elizabeth. FP and I WILL be having a serious talk about you two once he gets out."

Betty looked away from her mom to roll her eyes before she tilted her head in Alice's direction. "Why? Aren't you visiting him again before he gets out?" Mrs. Cooper crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow as a warning and an attitude check for the 16 year old. "You still haven't answered my question." Betty pointed out.

"Oh, right. I forgot that you're the mother and the reporter now. When did we switch roles?" She put a finger to her chin and looked up as if she were thinking. "Oh, right. We didn't."

"Mom..." Betty stood, trying her best not to cry now. She pushed in her chair and slowly walked toward her mother. "Why were you visiting FP everyday? That's all I wanna know." 

She came face to face with her mother who had backed up into the island counter and just before Alice could speak, they heard Hal and Polly's footsteps, leaving the bedroom upstairs. The steps moved down the hall and closer to the staircase. Alice began to whisper. "Elizabeth, there are just some things that kids don't need to know about their parents, alright?" Her eyes teared up a bit and Betty knew this was the real Alice again, not Dark Alice. "I don't want you to get hurt. In all of this...I'm just trying to protect you and your feelings." 

"From WHAT, Mom?" Betty whispered as well.

"The truth." Alice quickly spoke, hearing the footsteps descending the first few steps. 

"You can't protect me forever, Mom." She looked to the stairs before saying one more thing. "I will find out...whether it's from you or FP or in my own way....but I promise you. I will." 

Hal and Polly made their way down the last few steps and Betty passed them, smiling at them and saying goodnight before she went up to get ready for bed. Alice stared at the floor for a moment as she sighed, holding the counter behind her and wondering what more damage she could do. 

* * *

 

**_A/N: Ooooo, boy! It is 2:30 AM. I think I'm gonna throw in the towel after this roller coaster ride of emotions. Haha I hope you liked this chapter. I actually was not intending on it getting so dark, but boy was it fun! Let me know how it made you feel down below. Thanks again for reading! You guys are awesome! MWAH!_ **

 


	16. Behind Bars

*One Week Ago*

FP sat on the side of his prison bed, staring at the gray floor below him. His cellmate lay on the top bunk, snoring away. While FP had decided to spend his days in prison thinking about how he should change his life, his cellmate had decided to spend his days sleeping as much as possible to pass the time. FP rubbed his hands together, leaning his elbows on his knees. He was beginning to wonder what life had been like had he known about his son with Alice. He'd hoped their relationship back then was healthier and not ruled by their involvement in the Serpents. The gang basically tore them apart. 

His love for her never left but her love for him...he couldn't tell. Their small infatuations had eventually grown at Southside High and they spent months completely head over heels for one another. But once he became involved in his father's gang, things changed. They found themselves fighting almost everyday and she eventually made the decision to join the Serpents herself...something he had refused to allow her to do. She ignored his wishes and took part in the female Gauntlet anyway, causing him to not speak to her for days. 

She finally approached him and made him aware that all she wanted to do was let him know that he did not own her nor did she want to be apart from him. He found himself falling harder and harder for her everyday and the more popular she became with the Serpents, the more she seemed to forget about him. Or at least...that's how he felt. She had gained more guy friends and other teen girls at school seemed to be afraid of her, which Alice liked a little too much. Eventually things got out of hand and she let her power over other members get to her head. Even her power over FP seemed to overshadow her love for him. Their arguments became more frequent and eventually more nasty. Soon, their breakup became inevitable and more than expected. But FP refused to let her go. Until one day, she slithered away and slipped right through his fingers.

"Ay, FP!" The sound of an officer's baton hitting the jail cell bar startled Forsythe out of his walk down memory lane. "You got a visitor!" The guard unlocked his cell door and came in to handcuff him, taking him out to lead him to the visitor's hall.

"Didn't think I'd be seeing you here again after your last visit." He said the moment he sat in the chair across from Alice. "I told you everything my guy could get on him."

"I know. That's not why I'm here." She sat up in her chair, looking at him with unsure eyes.

"Well, then. Why ARE you here, Alice?" He paused. "Did you find him?" 

"No, but I...." She stopped, feeling the need to cry, but she fought it. "I called him."

"You what? Did he answer?" Now he sat up in his chair.

"Yes, but...I didn't know what to say. The moment I heard his voice, I froze. What do I say? Like, 'Hi, this is your mother, sorry I gave you up twenty years ago, would you like to come meet me and your criminal father?'"

"Well, I wouldn't say it exactly like that." He smirked. "I'd also throw in the part about us both being former gang members. That part might persuade him to come visit." His smirk turned into a smile and they both let out a small laugh.

Alice let out an audible sigh as she looked to the corner of the glass between them. Then, she realized something. Looking at him, she furrowed her brows with curiosity. "Wait...'both being former gang members?' You-"

"That's right." He interrupted. "I'm thinking once I get outta here, I'm done with the Serpents. For good. I'm gonna get my act together."

"Oh." Her expression was hard to read. "Well, good for you."

"Yeah..." He looked down, almost disappointed in himself. "If only I had left them years ago...I wouldn't be in this situation. And maybe we'd have our son." He looked back up to her and saw her beginning to say something, but he continued. "Maybe we'd still be together." Right away he knew he shouldn't have said that. Her head moved back a bit and her eyes grew sad, shocked, and confused.

"FP, I..." She smiled, hoping that didn't mean what she thought it meant. 

He deeply inhaled while his leg began to bounce up and down under the table. "Maybe you wouldn't have stopped loving me." He noticed her uncomfortable position and decided to finally say what he's been thinking for the past twenty years. "Come on, don't act like you didn't know."

"Know what, FP?" She started to sound a bit irritated.

"I never stopped loving you, Alice. And I still haven't. Now, I don't blame you for moving on so fast after that night, but-"

"FP, are you kidding me right now? You're gonna tell me this while you're behind bars?" She leaned forward, bringing her face closer to the glass. "You're damn right I moved on after that night. Transferring to the Northside was the best thing that ever happened to me. While you were the worst thing."

"Alice, I-"

"Telling me you still love me? Is that the truth or is this just you're stupid way of saying you're sorry for everything that happened?" A few tears of anger rolled down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away, looking around to see if anyone was watching them.

"It's the truth, Alice. Why do you think I spent the last two decades drinking myself to death? I hated myself for letting things get so out of hand. I hated myself for losing you." He was now the one trying his best to fight back tears. "It's no wonder my marriage failed."

"Okay, well I'm not you! I didn't become an alcoholic and I'm not gonna let my marriage fail all because I sometimes think about the love of my life." She quickly hung up the phone and stood. She turned to leave, but before she did, she gave him one last look of grievance and pain before heading toward the exit.


	17. Wounds From Her Past

*One Week Ago*

That day, Alice drove around for hours just listening to music. Eventually, she stopped the car on the side of the road and leaned her head back against the driver's seat with her eyes closed. She focused on every breath she took before opening her eyes again and turning off the radio. She stared ahead and played FP's words over and over again in her own mind. Telling him about Chic had spiraled into events and feelings she hadn't expected when she contemplated telling him in the first place. Her vision was suddenly blurred when her eyes filled with tears. Her left elbow leaned on the door beside her and she rested her head in her hand as she cried.

When she went home that night, she found it difficult to fake a smile. Dinner was quiet and shortly after, she headed upstairs to her bedroom where she just sat on her bed with her book in her hands. Though instead of reading it, she just stared out the bedroom window. It was almost as if she were waiting for a young FP to show up, climbing the side of the house and sneaking into her window the way he did as a teenager. Hal eventually joined her in bed and she shook her head, turning to look at her husband beside her. 

"Goodnight, Alice." He leaned over to kiss her, but she turned her head and all he got was her cheek. She felt her own heart drop in her chest and her head had begun to spin. Was she beginning to realize something? "Where were you tonight?" 

"Oh, um...I went to go see if I could get some dirt from one of Clifford's cousins." She lied. "Other cousins." She added 'other' once she remembered Hal's disturbing secret about his relationship to the Blossoms. 

"Did you find out anything?" He put his hand over her waist before kissing the line of her jaw. "Anything interesting?" He kissed her neck.

Alice stared out the window again as she quietly responded. "Yes." She answered his question, putting a hand on his while it rested over her stomach. "Goodnight, Hal." She picked up his hand, removing it from her side of the bed and she set her book down on the nightstand before laying down and forcing herself to try and sleep while Hal disappointedly turned over behind her.

The next day, Alice sat in the cold, hard chair on the opposite side of the glass with her hands folded in her lap. She fiddled with her finger nails until the guard returned with FP on the other side. She could tell that he was confused by her visit and her hands fell to her thighs before she readjusted her position in her chair. FP folded his arms on the table and they just sat there, staring at each other, both wondering why she was there. 

The longer she looked at him, the harder her heart began to pound and the weirder she began to feel. She, too, folded her arms on the table in front of her as she fiddled with her ringless ring finger. Its emptiness seemed to help her in what she was about to say, though she wasn't sure if she could or if she should say it. Finally, after a moment of looking into each other's sad and confused eyes, she reached for the phone on the hook and he followed. Even still, after holding the phones up to their ears, no one could speak a word for a long while.

Finally, she broke the silence between them. "What happened back then changed everything between us. When I found out I was pregnant...I knew right away it couldn't be Hal's. I just had this knot in my stomach that told me it was yours. When I told Hal, he actually seemed hopeful for a minute until he realized the truth. You always had this big hold on me in our relationship and Hal was not blind to that. Eventually...he made me hate you. He continued to remind me of what happened between us and for some reason...I believed him when he said that you would want nothing to do with the baby."

"Why are you telling me all this?" FP wondered.

"Because I need you to understand something." She felt butterflies, which she hadn't felt in so long. 

"And what's that?"

"You and I became toxic for each other once the Serpents became a part of our relationship." She explained. "The entire vibe between us took a dramatic flip and our infatuation with each other turned more into that need for someone to make you feel alive. We forgot about the love in our relationship and just focused on feeling safe and familiar with one another. For the longest time, I thought that being a Serpent changed you and that's what ruined us. But it wasn't until yesterday that I realized...I was the one who changed."

"Alice...what are you trying to say?" 

"I'm saying....that we both went our separate ways. We're both married now and we have children with those spouses that we need to think about."

"I'm getting divorced." He threw in.

"Yes, but I'm not." She sighed before nervously swallowing. "What I'm saying is that no matter how we feel...the best thing is for us to be apart." She looked down at her hands for a moment and bit her lower lip. "Yesterday when I was here, I didn't even realize what I said to you before I left. I barely slept last night when it came to me. You really were the love of my life and I never left Hal because our daughters became the new loves of my life. I hadn't seen that it wasn't him I was clinging to but it was them and it was the need to feel better without you. From now on...the only reason you and I are connected will be because of Chic. I'm sorry." 

She began to take the phone away from her ear when FP stopped her. "Alice, wait." She did. "Am I getting this right? I'm not alone in this?"

"FP, it doesn't matter. Like I said we-"

"I just need to hear you say it." He wanted to put his hand on the glass between them, but he fought the urge to. "Please? Just...one last time." He sadly whispered. Seeing him like this began to break her, but she did her best to stay together, until... "Alice." His voice cracked with sorrow and he let his head fall, looking down as he held his face. She realized she hand't heard him say her name like that in forever. 

Her eyes opened a bit more and she felt it again...that knot in her stomach he gave her long ago. She realized she needed to do this for him and she fought back tears that seemed to represent the memories and wounds from her past coming back to haunt her. She waited until he picked his head up again, looking into her eyes and she said it. "I still love you, FP." She quickly hung up the phone and stood, leaving faster than she had the other day.


	18. Caught Off Guard

_*24 Years Ago*_

_Wearing maroon combat boots with black trim, jean overall shorts with a forest green t-shirt underneath, covered by an open black and red flannel, topped off by a half up-half down hairstyle, young 14 year old Alice Smith walked into her first day of high school. She couldn't wait to see him. Since middle school, young Alice always had the biggest crush on FP Jones. He hung out with the cooler kids and she usually kept to herself. She had tried hanging with several different groups of people, but she never found a clique she didn't find problematic in some way or just plain annoying and/or stuck up. None of them were good enough for her in her eyes. Everyone was either too nice or too nasty. She needed friends to be just like her....right in the middle. But in middle school, there really is no one in the middle. It's either one or the other. But FP Jones? Phew, that boy could make her hang out with anyone if he wanted her to._ _What was it about him? She had never been one to chase boys, but something about him made her swoon at the sight of him._

_The first day of high school would be different. She swore she would make a name for herself and he would know exactly who she was._

_It was lunch period and she stepped out of the lunch line with her tray, looking around for a place to sit. She raised a judgmental eyebrow at all of the lowlife teens who tried starting food fights at their table or were loud and obnoxious. She turned her head a bit, seeing the table of preppy girls and boys, making out for all the world to see and she forced herself not to gag. P.D.A. was one of her biggest pet peeves and she knew that would be the one thing in high school she was definitely not going to miss after graduation. She looked at another table filled with the nerds who played with Pokemon cards and spent their lunch studying. Shaking her head at them, she looked passed them to the table of jocks, arm wrestling and bragging about their personal records on the sports teams. Sports had never been anything she was interested in and she definitely couldn't stand the sex-crazed cheerleaders who only joined the team for boyfriends._

_She could not stand this place. She begged her parents to move to the Northside many many times, knowing that that school always seemed to be more her, more conservative and more secluded. Her parents, however, couldn't find the time nor the money to find a new place and she got stuck on the Southside where her only form of enjoyment came from fantasizing about taking over the school with her future husband, Forsythe Pendelton Jones Jr._

_Still looking around the cafeteria to find a place to sit, she rolled her eyes when she noticed there was no empty table in sight. Right when she headed for one, FP Jones and Tall Boy walked right by her with their lunch trays. They seemed to be talking about guitars or something she could barely hear. Watching them go by, she wanted to follow, though she knew she couldn't be one of those girls. Instead, she went over by the window and sat on the window sill, away from all the miscreants and petty losers._

_Eventually a teacher approached her, telling her that she shouldn't sit alone in a corner by the window without an actual chair. She made up some excuse to stay there, though the teacher did his best to force her to move because she was not sitting in an actual seat. "You know what...I actually like you as a teacher."_

_"What?" Mr. Harrison asked, caught off guard by the random remark from the 14 year old._

_"Yeah." She smiled up at him with snarky eyes. "No matter what anyone else says about you. I think you're A-okay."_

_"Wha-what do they say about me, Ms. Smith?" He insecurely put his hands on his hips._

_"Nothing...just that you're a bit anal and over-attentive. But it's okay. That's not entirely a bad thing. I think it makes you a good teacher. Just don't let it get to you." She sat there with her fork still in her hand, watching him look down at her with extreme confusion before he finally turned and left. Alice giggled to herself and continued to eat in peace. For about three minutes._

_"Hey." A familiar voice sounded from above her and she looked up, her confident smile immediately vanishing. "That was really funny."_

_"Oh." She looked down at her tray. "Thanks, FP." She slightly widened her eyes, realizing those were the first words she had spoken to him since elementary school. Her crush on him hadn't developed until seventh grade and after that, she told herself not to speak to him in the hopes that she might say something stupid. Even if it was her and she knew herself never to be someone to say something stupid. But for some reason, she always felt stupid things ready to come out of her mouth around him._

_"Why are you sitting here, anyway?" He wondered._

_"I, uh..." She looked passed him at the full lunch room, trying to come up with some excuse, but she couldn't think of one. "I don't like anybody here."_

_"Oh."_

_"I mean, uh...you! I like you. I mean...you're fine. Yeah." Mentally kicking herself, she looked back down at her tray, hoping he would just leave and forget she just spoke. But he didn't._

_"Hey," he knelt down beside her on the floor, "...you wanna know a secret?" He began to whisper. "I don't really like anyone here either." He smirked and she turned her head to finally look at him._

_He was eerily close to her and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. As bold as she is, she decided not yet. "Really?"_

_"Really." He nodded with a smile and her heart melted. He turned his head to look at his table of friends. He looked back and stole a fry from her tray. "So, you really like me?" He asked._

_"Well, yes. I mean, you're pretty chill, I guess."_

_"You guess?"_

_"The truth is...you're the only person here who hasn't completely given me the urge to throw something at you." She brazenly responded, before putting another green bean on her fork and hesitantly eating it. School food was another thing that she couldn't stand, but it was sometimes the only meal she got, so she dealt with it._

_"You wanna throw things at everyone here?" He asked, trying not to laugh. "Like what?"_

_"I don't know. My books, this tray, a brick. Something." She let her fork fall down onto her tray and she leaned her head back against the wall, taking out a stick of gum and plopping it in her mouth. "Want some?" She wondered and he happily took a piece._

_"Well...if I ever make you wanna throw something at me, please tell me first. I don't wanna be caught off guard." He joked._

_"Well...in that case...I should tell you that I'm kind of in the mood to catch you off guard now." She replied._

_"Uh oh. What did I do?" He continued to smile._

_"It's nothing you did, it's what you said." Young Alice admitted._

_"What did I say?"_

_"You said you didn't wanna be caught off guard." She answered._

_"Well...you can't catch me off guard now...you told me." FP popped his gum and it forced her to look down at his lips while he smiled._

_"I didn't tell you everything." She blew a small bubble with her own gum._

_"Oh yeah? Well...what is it you're gonna throw at me?" He asked with a chuckle._

_"You'll see." She smiled before taking out her gum and pulling him in for an aggressive kiss. Soon, the table full of FP's friends turned and saw the kiss and they all started to immaturely cheer. It lasted for awhile and when they finally broke the kiss, she put the gum back into her mouth. "Did that catch you off guard?"_

_FP was speechless and the bell rang for next period. Alice stood with her bag on her shoulder and her tray in her hand. FP sat there for awhile, in complete shock at what just happened, but he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Turning around and finally standing, he tried to look for her in the crowd. When he spotted her by the trash can, setting the tray on top of it, she looked back at him with a smirk and left the cafeteria, heading for her next class._

* * *

 

**_A/N: Sorry, I had to throw in (pun unintended) that homage to Alice throwing a brick at Hal in season 1. Hahaha! I hope you liked the last two chapters. New one in a little bit! I alos hope you liked the characterization of Alice in this. It's a bit different and I kind of see Alice as someone who didn't really like anybody in high school and she sort of feels that she's too good for all of them. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks again for sticking with me. MWAH!_ **


	19. I'm Not Doing This For You

*22 Years Ago*

_Two years had passed since that kiss and Alice and FP had somehow become Southside High's power couple. Even the preppy couples and the jock couples didn't hold a hat to Smith and Jones. Alice had turned from the unknown, extremely unsocial, judgmental girl to the very popular, hot, extremely unsocial, judgmental girl who was dating FP Jones. Everyone knew who they were, even Northside kids saw them at the Drive-in and they'd know that a Jones and Smith were dating. Of course, they didn't think so highly of FP and Alice...especially together, but the Southside kids treated them like royalty. The king and queen, they were. And even teachers were aware of their highly respected relationship._

_But by the middle of Junior year, so much happened to put their love to the test. Her father got a better job and her mother got promoted. They started to talk to Alice about making her dream of moving to the Northside come true. But now...16 year old Alice was too in love to leave. FP's father was eventually promoted as well...though it was to the Serpent gang leader and in no time, FP performed the Serpents' Gauntlet to join._

_Alice was furious the moment she saw his injured face and snake bite. They finally had their first fight and things started to get worse. He was always out late with Serpent members, skipping dates with her and missing their time together. She began to accuse him of cheating or becoming one of the scum of the town and eventually, she decided to join as well to keep an eye on him and to spend more time together._

_FP was hysterical when he saw her up on that stage in short shorts and a skimpy tank top, sliding down the pole in the Whyte Worm. Another huge fight broke out between them the moment she stepped off the stage. He wanted her to focus on her school work for she was bound to be incredibly successful. She was aiming to go to school as Georgetown or Yale and he knew that her becoming a Serpent would significantly impact her chances on getting out of Riverdale for good. She didn't care though. She was too obsessed and in love with him._

_She refused to lose him just as he refused to lose her._

_Becoming a Serpent was easy, though staying one was tricky. Alice hated seeing certain sides of FP and she couldn't stand the way the women of the gang were treated. She had so many ideas for the gang and if she or any other female made a suggestion to the group, they were shoved off or laughed at. Alice would bring up the dilemma to FP and he would say that he hadn't a clue what to do about it._

_Soon, Alice took matters into her own hands and she approached Forsythe Senior, FP's dad._

_"Sir, I think we need to talk about the way women are treated around here." The 16 year old said as she leaned against the pool table at the Whyte Worm._

_Senior pushed her away so he could make his next move around the 8-ball._

_"Senior, FP and I have been talking-" She began._

_"Have you now?" He interrupted, making another shot. "Well, my son needs to realize that he doesn't get a say until he realizes that you shouldn't be his number one priority, Ace." He missed his next shot. "Shit!"_

_"Senior, that's kind of what I'm getting at. You're gonna let FP have a say...even though he's just a kid. All these men get to pitch in their ideas every once in a while, but when we women do, it's like nothing but white noise to you people. And the Gauntlet? Are you kidding me? You guys get to do all of these crazy tasks while us women have to go up there and degrade ourselves in front of you because you're all a bunch of horny bastards."_

_The other Serpent who was playing pool scratched and Senior got to go again. "Listen, doll face." He said as he lined up the cue ball with his pool stick._

_Alice picked up the plain white ball just before he was about to take his shot. "Don't call me 'doll face.'" She commanded and Senior smiled at the other Serpent._

_"You've got your own set of balls, kid." He admitted while using the blue chalk on the end of his pool stick._

_"Exactly. And so do all of the other women around here. I say...we should get a shot." She fiddled with the ball in her hand while she sat up on the table, waiting for an answer._

_"Hm..." Senior stepped in closer to her. "You think you've got what it takes."_

_"Alice!" FP came running into the bar, having just heard what his girlfriend was up to from other members of the gang. "What are you doing?" He asked when he saw his father frustratingly close to her._

_"We're just having a little chat." Senior stepped away from her and turned to look at his son._

_"Your girlfriend's got more guts then you, Boy!" The other Serpent in the room laughed._

_FP walked further into the room, approaching Alice. He put his hands on her thighs when he reached her, giving her a kiss and a hug. As he hugged her, he whispered in her ear. "What the fuck are you doing, Ace?"_

_"Shh..." She whispered back. "I've got a plan." Pushing FP away, she hopped down from the pool table and squared up to his father with her arms across her chest. "I'll tell you what...if you come up with a new and improved Gauntlet for the women of this gang and I pass...you have to make it permanent and get rid of that disgusting sexist one the leaders before you thought up. And if I don't pass...you can keep the stripper pole AND you won't have to see me in a Serpent jacket ever again." She suggested, waiting for a response._

_"Alice." FP put his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her._

_"But if I pass, you also have to listen to the women's ideas every now and then and realize just how smart and powerful we can be."_

_FP began to say something, but Senior put up a hand to stop him as he sent Alice an impressed smile. "Okay, Ace." He began. "I'll come up with this new Gauntlet for you, but....you don't get to see my son for the next week before it."_

_"Alice, don't-"_

_"Done!" She interrupted her boyfriend's protest and turned to look at FP. She gave him a pat on the chest before turning and leaving the bar._

_A week passed and Alice hadn't heard a word from Senior or the other Serpents. She impatiently awaited the new Gauntlet everyday and she began to grow anxious without FP. She mentally kicked herself everyday for not thinking the agreement through before immediately telling Senior she wouldn't see FP for such a long time._

_One day, FP approached her on her way home from school. "Hey."_

_"We're not supposed to be talking, FP." She continued to walk without so much as looking at him._

_"My dad said it was okay." He reached for her hand, but she pulled it away._

_"What did he say about the Gauntlet?" She looked straight on._

_"He said that the new one for you girls will be just like ours. You have to learn the laws, do the snake biting thing and, instead of everyone beating the shit out of you, you're gonna do a one on one fight with one of the other Serpents."_

_Alice stopped walking and turned to finally look at him with a smile. "That's it? This is gonna be a piece of cake."_

_"I know. You can totally win this." He slightly smiled, but it went away almost instantly._

_"What? What is it?" She grew concerned._

_"Nothing. I just...." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't want you to do it." When he saw the look of annoyance on her face, he explained himself. "You could be doing so much better than being a Serpent. You're gonna go to college. You're gonna get out of this place. You're gonna be a famous writer one day. Don't throw that all away for me."_

_"For you?" She scoffed. "You think I'm doing this for you?" Rolling her eyes, she turned and continued to walk. "No! I'm doing this for all of the women who have been mummified by that sorry excuse for a family of bikers. The Serpents preach love and equality, yet they don't practice it. I'm doing this so they can see that women kick ass just as well, if not better, than men do. And I'm doing it to avenge all the girls who who went through what I did after going up there on that pole and whose bodies were only seen while their voices weren't heard. THAT'S why I'm doing this, FP."_

_"Alice." He grabbed her arm and pulled her back, forcing her to stop as he passionately kissed her. When they broke the kiss, he touched his forehead to hers. "Alice." He said once more as his voice cracked. "I fucking love you." He whispered with a hint of pain. "So much. I'm sorry for everything. This has all become a mess because of me. And I'm so so so sorry."_

_"FP." She whispered as well, missing the last two years of nothing but fun and love. She missed when they were just head over heels for each other without a care in the world. "I-" She began to speak, but she saw someone behind him, placing a bag over his head and someone from behind her did the same thing._


	20. Kidnapped

*22 Years Ago*

_They were shoved into a van and taken to a deserted building on the outskirts of town. The kidnappers kicked the back of their knees, forcing them out of the van and they were lead inside where they were plopped down in chairs and the bags were removed from their heads._

_"What the fuck is this?" FP asked the four masked men who circled them._

_"We have a few questions." One of the perpetrators responded._

_"Are you not Forsythe Pendleton Jones Jr.?" Another one asked. "Son of Forsythe Senior?"_

_"So what if I was?" FP asked while one of the masked men tied his hands behind the chair and another did the same to Alice._

_"Don't give me your attitude, boy. Yes or No?"_

_FP kept his mouth shut._

_"Hm...Pleading the fifth, I see." The masked man who stood in front of them, turned his head to Alice. "Well...I guess we'll just have to ask the little lady then, won't we?"_

_"Leave her outta this." FP's eyes were filled with rage as he tried to get out of the ties on his wrists._

_"Mmm..she's pretty." Said another masked man._

_"Is she yours?" The guy, who seemed to be the leader asked._

_"She's-"_

_"I belong to no one." Alice responded._

_"Oooo..Good." Said the leader as he knelt down in front of her. His gloved hand stroked her golden hair and she rolled her eyes. "So you're not his girlfriend, missy?" She didn't answer. "Tell me...is that FP Jones?" He pointed to FP._

_"Why do you want to know?" Alice wondered._

_"That's personal." He put his hand under her chin and stood up, walking away from her. "His father and I have some unfinished business. The Serpents have been causing problems with my people lately and I just wanna have a little talk with him. But...I can't seem to get ahold of Mr. Jones. So...I thought that maybe if he knew I had his son and his very...incredibly hot girlfriend that he'd come out of his hiding place."_

_"Well...I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong teenagers." Alice replied._

_"Really? Because I'm pretty sure you're Alice Smith and that right there is FP Jones." One of the other men jumped in._

_"Well....I'm pretty sure you're wrong." She said with attitude._

_The leader brought himself face to face with her and he bent over, staring into her piercing blue eyes. "Listen, bitch. I know you're lying. Now, tell me! Where is his dad?"_

_"How the fuck am I supposed to know? I was at school all day! Excuse me for not keeping tabs on my ex-boyfriend's dad!" She angrily replied._

_"Oooo, 'ex' boyfriend?" He said, looking to FP. His uncovered eyes lit up and they could tell he was smiling underneath. He looked back to Alice. "Something tells me he didn't know about the 'ex' part."_

_Alice's heart dropped after the lie and she looked to FP, hoping he didn't think she was serious. The look in his eyes gave her stomach a turn and she bit her lower lip before looking back to the head kidnapper. "Let us go."_

_The man backed away from her and turned around, taking out a pocket knife. "Tell me about the Serpents." He demanded, turning to point the blade at her._

_"We don't know anything about the Serpents." FP said._

_"That's bullshit! Your father's the Serpent leader." One of the men behind FP and Alice said._

_"So? Just because his dad's the leader doesn't mean he knows anything about those snakes!" Alice responded._

_"Hm...you said he's your 'ex,' right?" The leader asked._

_"Yes?" Alice lied again, swallowing hard as she saw FP snap his head to her in the corner of her eye._

_"Okay...so you won't care if I just-" The leader walked over to FP's chair and put the blade in his face._

_"You're bluffing." She squinted at him._

_"Oh. Really? I'm bluffing?" He stepped over to her and quickly cut her arm as she screamed._

_"You fucking bastard!" FP said through gritted teeth as he fought to get out of his chair._

_"You think I'm bluffing now?" He asked Alice as he stepped back to FP, putting the knife to his throat._

_"Fffff...." Alice fought through the pain in her arm, grinding her teeth together as she hissed. She lulled her head back, looking up to the ceiling as she took a deep breath. Once she finally achieved mind over pain, she looked back to the leader with heated anger. "Go to hell!"_

_"Ah! Ah! Ah!" He pressed the knife harder into FP's skin, causing the teen boy to lean his head back. "I'd watch your language if I were you." He smiled back at FP and looked up to the other three kidnappers behind the teens. "Untie them."_

_"Both?" One man asked._

_"Yes. Both. Do it." The leader ordered and they listened. Alice and FP rubbed their wrists and Alice touched the blood from her cut, licking her finger afterward. "Get up." He demanded and they obeyed. "Hit her."_

_"What?" FP glared at him._

_"Hit. Her." He repeated._

_"Are you insane? No!"_

_"Hit her!" He shouted._

_"NO!" FP protested._

_The masked man grabbed FP by the neck and put his mouth closer to the teen's ear. "Do it, or I will." He shoved FP toward Alice._

_"Just do it, FP." She whispered and he shook his head no._

_"What the fuck are you getting at?" He asked the four men. "Just leave her alone. You got me."_

_"Hit me, FP!" Alice shouted when she noticed one of the men approaching him from behind with a knife._

_"NO!" He screamed once more and he suddenly fell to the floor._

_"FP?" She fell to the floor with him, seeing his shirt soak up the blood from the stab wound. "FP!" She picked up his head, putting it in her lap._

_"Should've hit her." The masked man with the knife pointed out._

_Alice cried, holding him tight to her. "You're gonna be fine. I'm gonna get you out of here." She whispered, bending over to kiss him as she wept._

_"Are you ready to tell us about the Serpents?" The leader grabbed her hair and pulled it tightly in his fist, causing her to wince in pain._

_"Don't, Alice." FP whispered in her lap._

_"Yes! YES! YES! I'll tell you everything!" She shouted. "He needs a doctor!" More tears rolled down her face and the man let go of her hair. She looked down to see FP closing his eyes with disappointment and he sighed._

_"I knew it." One of the masked men said, taking off the mask. "I told you she couldn't do it."_

_"Shit!" Another one said, pulling off his mask as well._

_"Looks like you won, Senior." The third perpetrator put his fake knife back in his pocket and pulled off his mask and so did the leader, revealing that it was, in fact, Forsythe Senior._

_"I told you, son. She shouldn't even call herself a Serpent." Senior put his knife back in his pocket and threw his mask to one of the others._

_FP rolled his eyes and sat up, resting an arm over his propped up knee. "Are you fucking kidding me, FP?" Alice shoved him before standing up. "This was your brilliant idea of a new Gauntlet?" She continued to cry, but with anger this time._

_"It wasn't my idea." FP said as he stood, wiping the fake blood from his hand onto his pants. He turned and sent his father a nasty look. "I thought it was barbaric and cutting your arm was certainly not part of the plan either!"_

_"Eh, well...we had to make it more believable." Senior said with an 'I-told-you' attitude._

_"You're sick!" Alice shouted. "You're all sick!"_

_"Alice." FP began._

_"No! I'm done with you!" She sobbed. "I'm done with all of you!" She grabbed her book bag from behind her chair and walked out, never to call herself a Serpent again._


	21. Baby Love

*Present Day*

Betty woke up the next morning when she heard one of the babies crying down the hall. She stood up from the bed and ran her fingers through her disheveled hair before she headed for the door. When she reached Polly's room, she looked in to see her sister on her bed with baby Jason in her arms and her mother stood near the crib holding Gemini. Both were still in there pajamas as well and Betty stepped in to join them. "Heyyyy." She said to Gemini in a sweet, gentle voice approaching Alice. She rubbed the baby's light hair before kissing her on top of her head. When she looked up to her mother, they both quickly averted their eyes remembering last night's conversation.

"Do you have any Jughead plans today?" Polly asked from the bed.

"I don't know. He wasn't really answering my texts last night." Betty admitted, turning to face Polly.

"Uh oh." Alice jumped in. "You better hope he wasn't with that Topaz girl."

"What do you mean?" Betty rolled her eyes to look back to her mom. "They're just friends."

"All boys say that, honey." Alice swayed and bounced to keep the baby calm.

"Well...Jughead's not like all boys." Betty smiled to herself. "He's different."

"There's no such thing. Boys are boys through and through. No matter how different they are, they still all want one thing. And even if they don't...they're men. They don't know how to say no to girls who throw themselves at them." She smiled down at the baby in her arms and Gemini held tight to her grandmother's finger. "Just make sure you keep an eye on them, that's all I'm saying." She looked back up to Elizabeth. "I hope you're right. I just don't want you to get hurt."

Betty wanted nothing more than to give her a piece of her mind, but with the babies in the room, she decided to keep calm and think of something nice to say, for once. "Thanks, Mom."

Alice smiled down at Gemini again and continued to gently rock her back and forth while making funny faces at her. "Hi!" She playfully whispered to the infant. "Hi, Princess!" She repeated, a bit louder and with a higher voice. "Hi, Princess!" Alice giggled and Betty couldn't help but grin. She'd never seen Alice so giddy before and it almost made her forget about the glimpse of Dark Alice she saw the night before.

"Uh oh. I need to pee." Polly spoke from the bed.

"I can take him." Betty put her arms out for Jason and Polly handed him over, rushing out of the room and down the hall.

When the two were left alone, Betty sat on Polly's bed before she looked up to her mother, realizing it seemed as though Alice hadn't even noticed Polly's absence. She was so enthralled and distracted by her granddaughter, she didn't even look up to see her eldest daughter leave the room. Betty couldn't help but watch Alice smile down at Gemini with so much love that she longed for the past, when Alice used to look at her like that. She began to notice how happy babies actually made her mother and she wondered how hard it must've been to give away her son. "Do you ever think about him?"

Alice's smile faded, immediately panicking at her daughter's question. "Who?" She looked back to Betty.

"My brother...do you ever think about him?" The 16 year old sadly looked down at Jason, imagining how horrible it would be to separate him from his sister.

"Of course I do." Alice calmed down a bit, realizing she actually had been thinking about FP getting out of jail before this conversation. "Every single day." She looked back down to Gemini.

"Would you...maybe consider looking for him?" Her youngest wondered with a light heart.

Alice kept her head down, though her eyes looked up at the wall across the room. She certainly couldn't tell Betty that that was her reason for seeing FP everyday, could she? She decided to lie. "I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it."

"Well, why not?" Betty wondered as Jason's pacifier fell out of his mouth. She picked it up and put it back into his mouth, realizing how much she loved him when he blinked those big eyes up at her. Alice didn't answer, but Betty saw something in her mother's eyes while she gazed down at Gemini. "Are you scared?"

Alice looked back to her 16 year old with a small fake grin. Just then, Hal entered and she deeply inhaled, not wanting to have this conversation in front of her husband. "Betty, could you give Jason to your father and go down to set the table? I'm gonna make a nice breakfast for us this morning." Betty suspiciously squinted at her mother's sudden change of attitude.

"What's the occasion?" Hal wondered, graciously taking his grandson from Betty.

"It's just a beautiful Saturday morning and it's gonna be our first full day with the twins in the house. I'd say we should all just stay in and spend some time together...starting with a lovely family breakfast. How's that sound?" She watched Elizabeth head for the door. "Betty, if you make any plans with Jughead today, cancel 'em. Today's gonna be a Cooper day."

Betty stopped at the door, turning to see the look her mother gave her and she instantly felt confused. Shaking it off, she turned and went downstairs to obey her mother.

When Polly returned from the bathroom, Alice handed Gemini over to her so she could go change out of her silky pink pajamas before heading downstairs to prepare the food. She sent Betty back upstairs to change as well and help Polly change the twins. When everyone was out of their PJ's, they joined Alice downstairs. Hal helped out with breakfast while the girls sat at the table, feeding the twins their bottles.

After breakfast, they all sat in the living room and chatted about the babies or played with them before Hal and Alice started a puzzle. Betty checked her phone every now and then to see if she had any texts from Jughead, but...nothing. She began to grow nervous, wondering if her mother could be right about him and Toni. But she forced herself not to worry about it, telling herself that she didn't want to become paranoid like her mother.

Soon, baby Jason started to cry and Alice offered to take him. She went upstairs with the baby to change him and Polly started to fall asleep in the chair with her daughter on her chest. Hal took Gemini to let Polly take a small nap and Betty started to take over her parents' puzzle.

The doorbell rang and Betty stood to answer it. When she opened the door, she saw a young man who stood at about five foot, eleven inches. He wore a pair of jeans and a light gray Cashmere sweater over a baby blue button down. He had on a pair of sunglasses and his sandy hair was stylishly messy and the expression on his face seemed cool. An unlit cigarette was carefully placed in between his lips and he slowly reached up, pulling off his sunglasses, revealing piercing blue eyes.

"Hello. Can I help you?" Betty spoke, holding tight to the door handle.

"Yes, I'm looking for Mr. and Mrs. Cooper?" He spoke with the cigarette still in his mouth.

"Who is it, Betty?" Hal's voice came from the living room.

"I'm not sure." The youngest turned to look at her dad and when she did, she saw Alice coming down the stairs with Jason.

Mrs. Cooper set the baby down in his bassinet near the stairs before she noticed the front door was open. Stepping further into the living room, she looked to her daughter who had questionable eyes. "Betty, who's-" She began to ask, but the moment she looked out the door, the moment she saw him...she knew. She froze and her jaw dropped while her hand fell to her stomach and her eyes stung with tears.

* * *

 

_**A/N: I'm sorry to leave it on such a terrible cliff hanger. Haha I hope you liked this chapter. TODAY IS MADCHEN'S BIRTHDAY! I can't believe the Queen is 47!!!! And....since I was such a writing machine yesterday and I barely did any house work, I'm gonna take a break for the day. Hopefully this chapter was good enough to tide you over for the next 24 hours. I'm starting to get a cold, I think so I'm due for a break anyway. I'm sorry to let you guys down though. Can't wait for tomorrow night's episode! I can't believe it'll be the mid-season finale ALREADY! That's insane, I feel like season 2 just started. Haha! Anyway, thanks for reading, as usual. You guys rock! Please let me know your thoughts on this fic so far! Love you all! MWAH!** _


	22. Regrets and Failures

*Three Days Ago*

"Well, if it isn't Alice in Wonderland come to see me again." FP joked as he sat down across from her.

"Hm...you seem to be in a good mood." Alice replied as she fixed a button on her satin blue shirt.

"You wanna hear a little secret?" He leaned forward as if to whisper through the glass. "I may be getting outta here."

"Oh." She faked a smug smile. "Which officer of the law did you have to sleep with?" She asked with a laugh.

"Very funny, Ace." He looked around, making sure the other inmates near him were too busy with their visitors to hear him. "No. My hearing is tomorrow and my lawyer said the judge seems to be siding with me. Plus, I could be getting off on good behavior." He couldn't help but grin.

"Interesting." She squinted at him with a smirk. "When we were kids I remember you getting off on my BAD behavior."

"Sh-Shhh!" He giggled when she laughed at her inappropriate comment. "So, why are you here?"

"I, um..." She cleared her throat, changing her tone to set the right mood for the situation. She took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out before she spoke. "I called him again."

"And?" He sounded thrilled and excited.

Suddenly, he noticed the tears in her eyes and she put her free hand over her mouth. It was silent for a moment while she successfully fought back the tears and continued. "He said he doesn't want anything to do with us and not to call him again." She let out a light sob before clearing her throat again and forcing herself to remain stoic.

FP's head fell and he closed his eyes with disappointment. When he lifted his head, he immediately felt butterflies at the sight of her so distraught. "I'm sorry, Alice."

She sniffled, keeping a straight face. "I'm sorry, too."

&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%&%&%&%&%&

*Present Day*

"Hi, um...Mrs. Cooper?" The stranger in the doorway put his hand on the back of his neck before he took the hanging cigarette out of his mouth.

Alice, speechless, stepped closer to Betty by the doorway, staring at the young man. She opened her mouth to respond, but struggled with what to say. Betty answered for her. "Yes, this is my mom. Mrs. Cooper. I'm Betty. Can we help you?"

"What are you doing here?" Alice finally let out with a soft voice as she watched him put the cigarette in his shirt pocket before running his hand through his messy hair.

Betty looked to her mother beside her, still holding to the doorknob as she wondered what ran through her mother's mind. "Mom, who is this?" The young blonde's heart began to pound as she told herself she knew the answer to that question.

"Elizabeth..." Alice began, never taking her eyes off of him. "This...is...your brother." Still stunned, Alice felt her body growing warm and cold all at the same time. "This is Chic."

Polly had been slowly awaking from her short nap when she heard those words and she immediately sat up in the chair, looking to her mother and sister by the door. Before she stood, she turned to see her father carry Gemini over to the bassinet, placing her inside with her brother. Hal stepped up behind his wife, putting a hand on her lower back and she finally looked away from Chic, remembering her husband was not going to be happy about this. Polly joined all of the Coopers in front of the door. The moment she saw her long lost big brother, she couldn't help but smile.

"Come on in." The eldest daughter spoke, pulling Betty aside to give him room to enter. Chic sent the girls a pained smile before stepping in as offered. "Excuse the mess." Polly said, happily leading him into the living room after she closed the front door.

Alice stared at the closed door for a moment, wondering why he had come and how different life would be after today. When she turned to follow her children, Hal held her hip, stopping her. He leaned in, whispering into her ear. "Are you kidding me, Alice?"

"Not now, Hal." She whispered back, attempting to step away.

"You went behind my back?" He continued.

"I said...not now!" She whispered again, forcibly ripped herself away from him to follow the kids.

"I can't believe you're actually here." Betty said with a combination of contentment and confusion.

"It's so amazing to meet you!" Polly grinned. "I always wanted a big brother and well...here you are."

"How did you know where to find us?" Betty asked with a hint of suspicion in her tone.

"Okay, ladies." Alice spoke, stepping into the living room with pep. She immediately did her best to hide behind her usual enthusiasm while deep down, she panicked. "Let's not overwhelm the boy." Her wide grin shrunk a bit. "Well...you're not a boy anymore, are you?" She mentally kicked herself, ignoring the fact that Hal stood beside her with his hands on his hips. "Please...sit." She bit her lower lip as she nervously swallowed.

He looked around at the family before finally sitting on the couch opposite the other four. Polly sat down in her chair again while Betty and Alice sat on the other sofa. Hal stood behind them with his arms folded over his chest as he studied Chic.

"So..." Alice began. "You're...you're here." Her heart felt like it might burst. "When we spoke on the phone, you sounded-"

"Wait, what?" Betty interrupted.

"You spoke on the phone?" Polly followed.

Ignoring Hal's sigh of annoyance behind her, Alice began...."Yes, I...I called him and-"

"When we spoke..." Chic started. "...I didn't know what to think or how to process...everything. It was not fair for me to say all of the things I did to you. And I am sorry." He folded his hands in his lap as he continued, only looking at Alice. "I did some thinking these past few days and I realized that no matter how hurt I was about everything...you still wanted to see me and I would be lying if I said I never thought about meeting you. So, I came here today to both, apologize for my behavior on the phone, and to hopefully grant your wish in seeing me." He sighed, finally looking away from his biological mother as he looked down at his hands. "Though I'm planning on today being our only encounter." He looked back up to all of them. "Please don't expect us all to become a big happy family after today."

Betty looked over to Polly who looked back at her before they both turned to look at their mother. Hal looked around at all of them. "We won't." Elizabeth finally broke the awkward silence. "So...how did you find out where we live?" She asked again. "I'm Betty, by the way." She remembered no one really introduced themselves.

"I know." One side of his mouth curled into a smile. He looked to his other sibling. "And you're Polly...Though I don't know who they are." He pointed to the bassinet which held the babies.

"Oh!" Polly stood with excitement, walking over to her infants. "This is Jason and that's Gemini." She pointed to each one. Chic stretched his neck enough to see inside and he widened his eyes a bit. "They're two days old." She admitted, already wondering how time seemed to speed up as a parent.

"Wow." He said before looking back to the other three. "Mr. and Mrs. Cooper...I hope it's okay that I call you that."

"Yes. Of course." Alice hesitantly replied.

"I, um...I've actually known about you four since I was 18. After moving out of my parents' house, I went to the adoption agency and received my documents. Believe it or not, it wasn't all that hard to find the owners of the Riverdale Register in this relatively small town." He chuckled to himself. "I thought about visiting multiple times, but could never decide when would be the right time." He looked down at his hands again, twiddling his thumbs. "And I was never sure if you even wanted to see me."

"Yes, honey. We would've loved to meet you." The completely raddled mother responded. "I wanted to find you many times, but something always stopped me or I was too afraid to...and when you were a kid, it would've been illegal, seeing as how it was a closed adoption and all."

"But we're glad to meet you NOW. Even if it is for a day. Right, Mom and Dad?" Polly smiled at her parents before sitting back down.

"Absolutely." Her mother answered, crossing a leg over the other and grabbing ahold of her knee. "Um...so would you mind telling us a bit about yourself? Are you in school or work?"

"I'm actually in between jobs right now and as school goes...well, I wanted to go, but I could never afford it. It's okay, though. I got a buddy who may be able to help me out with a job at his dad's auto shop."

"You fix cars?" Betty asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I do."

"Elizabeth, here, has a knack for mechanics as well." Alice said with a proud grin while Betty was shocked to hear her actually sound so proud of that. She was so used to her mother criticizing her for her boyish passion on repairing automobiles.

"Is that right?" Chic looked to his younger sister and she slowly nodded with a smile. "I would've never guessed."

"Yeah. Grandpa Louis started teaching me when I was like, what? Ten?" Betty looked to her father for confirmation and Hal nodded.

"That's cool." Her brother responded with a grin. "What about you, Polly? Do you fix cars?"

"Me?" Polly laughed. "Oh...no. I never understood a single word she and Grandpoppy were saying."

They all chuckled before a moment of silence was broken by the cries of one of the twins. "Uh oh." Alice said. "Sounds like Gemini needs a diaper change now too."

"I'll take her up." Polly stood, walking over to her daughter.

"I'll grab Jason and come up with you." Betty said, deciding that their parents might need a moment alone with Chic anyway.

"We'll be down in a couple minutes." Polly said as she approached the stairs.

"It's so good to meet you." Betty painfully smiled at Chic before turning to follow Polly and Gemini with baby Jason in her arms.

The moment both teen girls were gone, the air was filled with silence once again and nothing but a sort of tension between the three in the living room. "So..." Hal finally spoke. "Your parents...do they know about you being here today or do they know that you know about us or anything?"

"No. They, um..." Chic put his head down for a moment before continuing. "They passed away about a year ago. Car accident."

Alice silently gasped as her jaw instantly dropped with empathy. "Oh, Chic. I am so sorry. If there's anything we can do to help-"

"No. It's fine. Really. You don't need to do anything. It's been rough, but I've been getting by. It happened when I was comfortable out on my own, so...it's alright. And like I said...I'm not expecting us to become a part of each other's lives after today."

"Why don't you expect that?" His mother wondered.

Chic leaned forward, brushing his fingers through his hair again before letting out a loud, pretty stressed out sigh. "Don't take this the wrong way, please. But...I don't want this to be one of those cliche movie plot lines where girl meets boy, girl gets pregnant, girl's too young and naive to have baby, girl gives him up and later on they have a big reunion and live happily ever after like she never hurt him by letting him go."

"May I ask you something?" She replied.

"What?" Chic wondered.

"How old were you when you were told you were adopted?" She frankly had no clue why that question popped into her head or out of her mouth, but by the time she noticed it had, it was too late and it had already leaked out.

"I'll never forget that day." He answered. "I was about six or seven and I wouldn't stop asking for a brother or sister. I never understood why they wouldn't get me one. Finally, they told me that Mom couldn't have babies in her tummy like other women. When I got confused about how I was born...they explained to me that somewhere out there...another woman had me in her tummy and she knew how much they wanted a baby, so she gave me to them." He smiled to himself. "I remember thinking how nice that lady must be to let someone else have her baby, though I worried that one day she would ask for me back. But the older I got and the more knowledge of adoption I retained, the more angry I began to feel and the more confused. That nice baby lady who once lent me to my parents became the woman who gave me away and never came to ask for me back...So you see, when you called me the other day...all of those horrible feelings about the situation came back to me and I couldn't think of what I should say. I know that this may be hard for you to hear, but that's just how I've always felt. I've grown up waiting for you to come back for me. Sometimes I feared it, because I thought I'd miss my adoptive parents too much. But other times, I wished for it, because I wondered how great it would be to live with someone SO NICE that she would even give up her kid. But you never came. So you see...I'm not sure if coming here was such a great idea. But finally being able to speak to you face to face and to see even a tiny glimpse of the life I missed out on here..." He looked around the house. "...was enough for me. And I know it's probably not enough for you. But it has to be. I would say that I'm sorry...but I don't know that I am after everything my emotions have gone through since I found out about you." He stood up from the couch. "I should go."

As Chic headed for the door, Alice quickly stood. "But...you just got here."

"I know." He said after stopping to turn and look at her once more. "But looking around at this place just reminds me of all the things I could've gotten that I didn't and I just-I gotta go." He turned to start for the door, but a panicked Alice grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" Her voice was filled with regret and pain. "Chic, I...I know that you feel that way and I understand. I do. I don't expect you to ever forgive me." She finally let the tears go. "I was a stupid kid who made a stupid mistake and I regret letting you go every single day of my life since. I know I failed to do the right thing or be a good mother, but I'm asking you now." She continued to squeeze his hand as she sobbed. "Don't go. Please stay and be a part of our lives. All I want is to make it up to you. I know that I probably never can and maybe I never will. But that doesn't mean that I'm not willing to try. Chic, please. Please let me be a better mother....a better person." He finally turned his head to look her in the eyes. He read her carefully, feeling her truth. "I wish it could've been sooner, Chic...but I'm here now. I do want you back. Just like when you were a little kid. Let me be the nice baby lady who came back for you. Please?"

Just then, Polly and Betty came back down the stairs with Jason and Gemini. Betty was first and she stopped on the last step, causing Polly behind her to stop on the third to last step. They both stared at their mother, holding tightly to their brother's arm while Hal had leaned his hands against the back of the sofa in front of him with his head down as he shook it at his wife. Everyone waited for an answer and the sounds of four different heart beats filled the air.

* * *

 

_**A/N: Wow. Guys, I am so sorry for the long wait. My cold ended up getting worse and then when I tried writing, I was NOT happy with the chapter at all. I'm such a perfectionist, I kept re-reading it, then deleting it, then re-writing it, then reading again and deleting again and yada yada. I couldn't decide how I wanted it to go and though I'm still not 100% happy with how it turned out, I think all of your reactions will help me decide if this was the way to go or not. So please, please, please, PLEASE tell me what you think. And also (if you've been watching season 2 and you're caught up), go watch the promo for episode 10 (which returns on January 17)! It looks sooooo good! Except our poor bby Alice cries more and I'm not ready for that! x'( Haha Anyway, like I said, please comment on this chapter and thanks so much for reading again. MWAH!** _


	23. More Secrets

Static filled the air around the Coopers as they listened for an answer from their long lost son and brother. The baby monitor on the coffee table in the living room beeped every now and then, reminding them of its low-running battery, though it was the only sound present for what seemed like an eternity. Betty wondered what the others were thinking in that moment and she longed for the gift to read minds. She looked down at her mother's hand, clenching onto Chic's and she swore, even from far away by the staircase, she could see Alice's body shaking.

Finally, there was a break in the silence. Chic took in an audible deep breath before slowly letting it out and pivoting just enough to look Alice in the eye. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. His eyes filled with tears and his free hand grabbed ahold of hers in his other one. He held her hand in both of his for awhile as he looked down at them. He sniffled as he looked back up into her eyes and a painful smile grew on his lips while his tears fell down his face. He nodded once before Alice let out the breath she had been holding in and they both pulled each other in for a long awaited hug. Alice couldn't help but let out a few relieved laughs as she continued to cry, holding him tight to her. "My baby." She whimpered through a small sob, rubbing his back, feeling a weight lift off of her shoulders.

"Alice." Hal began halfway through their embrace, though Chic and Alice never budged. "Alice?" He said once more, still unsuccessful.

Betty brought Jason over to the bassinet, setting him down inside and Polly followed with Gemini, setting her down as well before she stepped over to her mother and brother, hugging them as well. Betty joined in the group hug and eventually, Hal realized he should too.

&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

*One Week Later*

The Cooper family sat down at the dining room table, flipping through old family albums and telling Chic funny stories about old family camping trips and memories. This was the third time he had come over to visit and, though he seemed very closed off, Alice couldn't help but notice he looked oddly comfortable with them. They all did. The only one who she knew felt uncomfortable was, of course, Hal. They had had fights every night before bed about her "insubordination" to keep his wishes on forgetting about Chic entirely. She began to feel their marriage crumbling even more than before and her fear for the girls' happiness only grew.

Suddenly, the phone rang. "I got it." Mrs. Cooper smiled, standing from the table and heading over to the phone in the hallway by the stairs. "Hello?" She said, holding the phone to her ear.

"What's up, Ace?" Came the voice on the other end.

Alice's smile vanished and her stomach was instantly filled with butterflies. "FP." She basically whispered. "Why are you calling me at home?"

"Well, you refused to give me your cell number, so I had an officer find your home phone in the phonebook." He chuckled. "Can't believe phonebooks still exist."

"What do you want, FP?" She asked, turning her face away from the dining room so Hal wouldn't see her expression.

"I'm getting out tomorrow. Would you maybe come pick me up and give me a ride home?" He wondered on the other end.

"What? No. Why me?" She leaned her shoulder against the wall beside her. "Why not get one of your Serpents to go get you?" She remembered that she had told him about Betty and Jughead's little stake out. "Or have Jughead illegally drive your truck again."

"Alice. No." He sounded irritated on the other end. "I need you to do it. I'm done with the Serpents when I get out and I want to surprise Jughead when I get home. Will you please just do it? You're the only one I can think of to do this."

Alice stopped to think about it for a while and she turned to look over her shoulder at the family. Her eyes were stuck on Hal and she bit her lower lip, realizing she was officially done with dealing with Hal's possessive crap and she turned back around, speaking into the phone. "Fine."

The next day, Alice was filled with many anxieties. What would happen if she and FP were together without a slab of unbreakable glass between them? What would happen if she told him that she had met with Chic face to face three times now? How could she tell FP that Chic agreed to slowly become a Cooper without the knowledge that he was actually a Jones? She realized things had suddenly gone backwards. When she told FP about Chic being his and about how she was trying to look for him, she felt that they were taking steps forward. But now that she had gone back to secrecy, she realized they were taking steps back again.

And to top off this emotional day, it was Polly's first day back at school. The girls headed out the door around 7:30 in the morning while Hal stayed back to help Alice get the babies into their carseats in the back of Alice's Buick.

"I'll see you at the Register." Alice said after he closed the back car door. Hal looked down at her with a sigh before turning to head toward his car, but she grabbed his arm to stop him. "Listen, Hal. I know you're angry with me for what I did, but you should know that I don't regret finding him. Even if it still pisses you off."

"Clearly." He responded, putting his hands into his jeans pockets.

"Can't you just pretend to be happy that we have our son back? You always wanted a boy in the family." She pointed out.

"Yeah. Alice. My own son. Not FP's." He took a step closer to her, bringing his face inches from hers. "And you know what? We could've had our own. But after Betty was born, you barely even touched me."

"Well, I'm sorry that my postpartum depression cut into your sex life, Hal."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about, Alice." He watched her roll her eyes away from him before he continued. "Even after you got better, you pretended like I wasn't even there. You went around town pretending that we were the perfect couple with the perfect little family and you forgot to actually make that the honest truth by just being there for me every once in awhile." He waited for a response, but when he didn't receive one, he scoffed and turned away, walking down the driveway toward his car. "I'm going to work."

Alice watched him get into the car and drive away before she sighed and got into her own, taking the twins to the day care center down town.

After dropping off the babies, she headed for the prison to pick up FP.

* * *

 

_**A/N: Hey guys, I was just wondering how you all feel about smut. Would you prefer I left it out of this fic or would you want some smut? Let me know ASAP, please. MWAH!** _


	24. Old Feelings

Betty couldn’t help but feel a sense of power as she walked down the school hallway beside Polly once again. The entire school seemed to either be entirely down for Polly’s return or entirely against it. They didn’t care. They continued to strut down the hall with smiles on their faces and confidence in their step. Cheryl’s many eye rolls were highly anticipated and teachers staring was more than inevitable. 

Some of Polly’s old friends and acquaintances asked about the babies and demanded to see pictures while the only students who truly cared for Polly’s return were Betty’s own friends, taking her in as their own. Archie, Veronica, Kevin, and even Reggie sat with her and Betty at lunch and in the student lounge without a single judgmental bone in their body. 

“So, is it true, Betty?” Veronica said in a hushed tone after last period in the student lounge.

“Is what true?” Reggie wondered. 

“That Betty and Polly’s long lost brother has finally made a dramatic entrance into their lives.” V sat on the edge of the couch, leaning forward a bit, waiting for a response.

“Um…” Betty began with an oddly overwhelmed expression on her face.

“Yes.” Polly smiled from her chair. 

“How’s that going?” Kevin asked.

“We’ve only seen him a couple times, but so far it’s been okay.” Betty responded.

“It’s amazing! It’s almost like you can really tell he’s our brother, you know?” Polly jumped in with excitement. “He has a lot of the same quirks as me and he and Betty are both good at fixing cars. It’s awesome. I can’t wait to get to know him more and for you guys to meet him.”

“So, how old is he?” Reggie asked.

“Um...I think about 22 or 23? Right, Betty?” Polly smiled at her sister.

“I guess.” 

“It’s so weird. Out of all the parents in Riverdale, you would never think that Mr. and Mrs. Cooper would be the ones who had a kid in high school.” Archie chimed in.

“I know, right?” Veronica replied. “If anyone, you’d mostly think it would’ve been MY parents. Or maybe even Mr. and Mrs. FP Jones.” Kevin slowly nodded before turning to see Betty’s eyes widen beside him. He put a hand on hers as if to ask if she were okay and she bit her lower lip as she looked at him before turning her attention back to the conversation. “Are you okay, B?” Veronica finally noticed Betty’s odd behavior.

Once the Lodge girl spoke, Kevin and Betty let go of each other’s hand. “I don’t know.” She admitted. “Something’s off about this whole Chic thing.”

“Really? You think so?” Polly asked. “I haven’t noticed anything weird.”

“That’s because you’re so pure and you expect the best, Poll.” Betty lovingly smiled to her big sister. “And you’ve been busy trying to take care of the babies to not notice anything.”

“Well, what have you been noticing?” Archie asked.

“I don’t really know. It’s just….my Dad has been very weird since he showed up. He and my mom act even more weird around each other and everytime Chic seems to try to connect with Dad, something’s off. I can’t figure out what it is.” Betty admitted, wanting to kick herself for always seeing the strange behavior in others.

“Well….maybe it has something to do with guilt or something?” Veronica suggested. “Maybe your dad just feels bad for giving him up or not wanting him?”

“Or he just doesn’t feel comfortable yet. I mean...Chic is sort of a stranger.” Archie added. 

“Mm...maybe.” Betty said before looking down at the text message she received from Jughead. “Jug says he won’t be able to meet at Pop’s until later tonight. He’s got some kind of school meeting or something right now.”

The rest of the group sighed at the change of plans. “Fine.” Veronica started. “I guess we can all just go home now then and I’ll send out a mass text when we’re ready to meet up?” She suggested.

“Sounds good.” Kevin said, standing up and then helping Polly stand too. “You should come too, Polly.” 

“Yes, of course.” V agreed, standing while holding Archie’s hand.

“Okay.” Betty slowly stood as well. “I’ll let you guys know when Juggy gets home.”

“Aright. See ya.” Veronica and Archie waved at everyone before heading for the door and the others followed.

&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Alice stood outside of her car waiting for FP to be released from the prison. Her emotions, of course, were still all over the place. Would she be happy to see him? Would he be happy to see her? Would she tell him right away about Chic’s return? Or would she tell him at all? Her head was spinning and she felt a minor headache approaching to join her knotted stomach pain.

Finally, she heard that loud buzz before the exit door to the prison was opened and FP Jones walked out with two officers behind him. Alice felt the urge to nervously bite her nails, but she fought it and stood there on the other side of the fence, watching him step closer and closer. He stopped just before the fence between them, waiting for it to open. 

“You watch yourself out there.” One of the officers behind him said as the gate finally opened. 

“You too.” Forsythe the Second nodded to the other officer and finally stepped out, feeling that sense of freedom all around him once again. 

He continued to walk toward Alice, hearing the gate close behind him and he let out a sigh of relief. Finally, she moved away from her car and walked toward him as well. They stopped, inches from each other. “So…” She began. “You’re finally out.” He didn’t say a word as he just stared down at her, realizing this was the first time they’d been this close to each other since they both admitted they still loved one another. He suddenly felt his own butterflies forming within and waited for her to say something else. She felt as though someone had punched her in the gut and she looked passed him at the building before basically whispering. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of her. 

She put a hand up as if to put it on his chest to push him away from her, but she stopped herself just before touching him. Turning around, she reached for the door handle to the car, but he reached around her, opening the door for her. When he did, Alice quickly inhaled, feeling frightened to be around him, unaware of what they might do to each other. Especially now that things were spiraling out of control. She stepped into the driver’s seat and he closed the door, walking around to the passenger side and hopping in himself.

The car ride was silent aside from the time he thanked her for the ride and she let him know that she didn’t mind, though they both knew a part of her DID mind. 

They made it to Sunnyside Trailer Park and both sat in the car just outside of FP’s trailer. They listened to each other breathe for a moment before he finally unbuckled his seatbelt and turned his body to face her. “Alice.” He finally spoke and she refused to look at him. “I meant every word I said. About you, about being sorry for what happened, and about being done with the Serpents for good. I’m going to keep my word.”

“Why are you telling ME this? Isn’t this something you should be telling your wife?” She kept her hands on the steering wheel.

“Ex-wife.” He corrected. “Our divorce was finalized yesterday.”

Alice let out a sigh of annoyance and finally turned her head to look at him. “Well, I don’t know what you want me to say, FP. I’m happy for you. I really am. Good for you that you’re trying to get your act together. Good for you that your failed marriage is finally off the table. But guess what...you and I can never happen. Hal is-”

“Do you always have to bring him up?” FP rolled his eyes, looking through the front windshield with frustration.

Alice raised her voice to finish her interrupted statement. “Hal is my husband and that’s the truth.”

“Yes, but do you love him?” FP snapped his head back to her.

“I...Yes, I do. Okay? I love both of you. For different reasons. He made me feel safe back then. He was the only one at Riverdale High who accepted me after transferring from the southside. He stopped Hermione and Mary and Penelope from always making me feel like shit when I would come home from school after being bullied to the core. Hal was there even when he found out Chic was yours and yes….he wanted me to get rid of him, but even after all that, he still stuck with me. He was the only one who didn’t judge me when I came back from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. He was the only one who kept me out of trouble. And...he is the one I am married to. So I’m sticking with him.” She stopped for a second and looked down. “Till death do us part.” FP leaned in, gently grabbing her chin and forcing her to look back up at him. He moved in to kiss her, but she hesitated and pulled away just as their lips slightly touched. “FP, I’m trying to do the right thing here.” She whispered with her eyes closed. 

“The right thing for who?” He slightly tilted his head, adjusting his hand on her chin to move it over her cheek while pushing her hair behind her ear. “The right thing for Hal? What about the right thing for you?”

Though she knew she shouldn’t, she let her left hand reach up to hold his hand against her cheek before pulling it down from her face and playing with his hand in hers. “No. The right thing for our kids.” She finally looked back up into his eyes. “This wouldn’t be right for Betty and Jughead. We can’t break up our kids. Despite my feelings about high school romance...those two really love each other. And I don’t wanna be the one to mess that up.” She let out a pained chuckle. “Lord knows I’ve already messed up a lot of things for Polly. I don’t wanna ruin Betty’s chances at happiness too. And I know you don’t wanna do that to Jughead.” She let go of his hand and pulled away, almost leaning back against the driver’s side door. 

FP sighed before looking out the car window. “Alright, well...can you come in for a minute?” He looked back to her. “I have something for you inside.”

“I don’t think that’d be such a good-”

“Just...please, Alice? It’ll only take a second.”

Without an answer, she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. He sent her a weak smile before getting out as well and leading her up to his trailer. 

When they stepped in, Alice looked around, remembering when she lived on the southside as a kid and she didn’t miss it at all. She thought of how lucky she was to get out and felt for Juggy and FP living here. “Just a second, I’ll be right back.” FP said as he headed for the back bedroom, leaving Alice in the kitchen.

It wasn’t long before he returned with something in his hand. It was a box about the size of an iPhone and she looked down at it with a squint of the eyes. “What’s that?” 

“Open it.” He handed it to her and she hesitated to take it.

Eventually she took it and opened it to reveal it held a vintage, gold and black fountain pen. Alice couldn’t help but gasp as she pulled it out of its box. “A Waterman safety pen?”

“Remember you always wanted one in high school.”

“It’s beautiful!” She smiled, setting it back inside its little black box and closing it. 

“I got that for your 18th birthday.” He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “But I never gave it to you, because after transferring to Riverdale High back then and seeing you in the halls with Hal...I was always so jealous. Then on your birthday, I was gonna give it to you in the student lounge. But right when I walked in, Hal gave you that really expensive necklace and I felt like my gift was shit compared to that. So I kept it after all these years, maybe hoping that somehow we could have our happily ever after. But...now knowing that we never will, I think it’s time to finally let it go.”

“FP-” She began, setting the gift down on the counter beside them.

“It’s stupid, I know. But I just-”

He was interrupted when her lips crashed into his. She stepped forward, forcing him to walk backwards into the counter. Her hands reached up for the buttons on his shirt and his hands did the same. He broke the kiss to nip at her neck and she let her head fall back as her eyes closed, feeling his tongue upon her jawline. His fingers stumbled to unbutton her satin, blue shirt and she placed her hands under his shirt, feeling the muscles underneath. One of his hands found its way into her shirt as well and he felt her plump breast, causing her to whimper. 

She opened her eyes, looking up to the ceiling before feeling the wedding ring on her finger turn underneath his shirt. “Wait! Stop!” They both paused and looked into each other’s eyes. “We can’t.” She whispered, more to herself than to him. “We can’t.” She shook her head and took a step back, putting her hand to her forehead. “We have to think about Jughead and Betty.” FP sighed as she rambled on and on. “It wouldn’t be right. It isn’t right. Mnnn mmm! No matter how much we want this, or how much we feel about each other. This can’t ever...will never happen. FP. It won’t.” She looked back into his eyes and he sent her a smirk. “It won’t.” She weakly repeated. 

“Mhm.” He laughed inside, loving to see her so flustered. 

She found herself looking down at his lips and she melted inside. “Oh, fuck it!” She kissed him again, this time unbuttoning her shirt herself and struggling to rip it off her shoulders, revealing the black lace bra she wore underneath. 

Just then, they heard the front door open and they both turned to see none other than Elizabeth Susan Cooper, staring at them in shock. Alice’s heart violently pounded one last time before it sank and she quickly stepped away from FP, pulling her shirt back up over her shoulders. “Betty…” She began, but before she could speak...her daughter ran out of the trailer.


	25. A New Suspicion

Alice ran out of the trailer after her youngest, buttoning up her shirt as she ran down the stairs. “Betty! Betty, wait!”

“Why should I?” Betty shouted back, continuing to saunter away with tearful eyes.

“Just let me explain!” Alice sped up, bringing herself closer and closer to the teen.

“Explain what? What could you possibly explain about me finding you and my boyfriend’s dad going at it?”

Alice finally caught up to Betty, grabbing both of her arms and violently spinning her around to face her, both stopping in their tracks. “Baby, just listen-”

“Don’t you ‘baby’ me now, Mom! What the hell is going on?” Betty’s falling tears broke Alice’s heart. “Have you been cheating on Dad? This whole time?” She pointed back at the trailer. “And with Jughead’s dad? Do you realize how twisted that is?”

“No, no. Betty, if you would just give me a chance to tell you-”

“I can’t date my mom’s married boy toy’s son!”

“He’s not a boy toy, Betty.” Alice crossed her arms over her chest.

“That would almost make Jughead my stepbrother! How...how long has this been going on?”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Betty.”

“Ridiculous, Mom?” Betty’s nails suddenly began to dig into the palms of her hands once again. “Ridiculous? Oh, I’M the one who’s being ridiculous here.” She angrily nodded with sarcasm. “Now I see why you’d been visiting him in prison and trying so hard to find out when he’d be getting out. So you could figure out when you two could start things up again.”

“No, Betty. That’s not why-”

“And just screw Dad, right?....Or in this case, FP.” Almost instantaneously, Betty was met with a hard slap to the face.

“Don’t you ever talk to me like that again, Elizabeth.” Alice pointed at her. “Do you understand me?” She watched Betty’s tears continue to fall as she fought back her own. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Betty kept her hand over her red cheek. “I don’t know when you started to think you’re so high and mighty to speak to me like you’re the parent here, but enough is enough! You are MY daughter and yes...I’m human and I make mistakes, but you’re still just a 16 year old little girl who hasn’t learned shit about the world yet. You think you know everything? Well, you just wait until you get into college. You’ll realize that you’ve known nothing about it this entire time. And most of all, you know squat about discipline and knowing how to treat your superiors. Am I wrong a lot of the time? Yes. Does that give you the right to speak to me like some royal highness? No! When you get out into the real world, you’ll realize that. You can’t speak to your boss at work that way. You’ll get fired at the drop of a hat. You cannot give this much attitude to a police officer that pulls you over for a speeding ticket or to the judge in court working on your case for said ticket. If you really think that once you move out of my house and go out on your own that all authority will vanish and you’ll just be able to do whatever you want, you’ve got another thing coming, Elizabeth Cooper. You are still a child and you’ve still got a lot to learn about life. And if you had let me speak, you would’ve heard me tell you that I was not going to let anything go any further with FP in there. It was just supposed to be a kiss. That’s all. A goodbye kiss. No, he and I have NOT been sleeping together and no, we were NOT planning on having an affair. Okay? We both agreed that it wouldn’t be right to do that to you and Jughead. We just...we got caught up in a moment and that’s all. Okay? Old feelings came rushing back and-”

“Old feelings?” Betty’s hand slowly slid down and off her face. She made it into a soft fist and let it fall to her side as her tears finally stopped.

Alice looked down, biting her lip, realizing she had said too much. Her voice softened a bit. “You wanna know the reason I was always a little weird about you and Jughead being together?” She looked back up to see Betty’s wide eyes before she slightly nodded. Her mother took hold of both of her hands, holding them in between them. “You two remind me so much of FP and I when we were in high school.” She sighed, finally letting it out. Well...most of it. “You and Polly once asked me who my first love was. It wasn’t your father.” She and Betty both turned their heads to look back at the trailer. She sighed before continuing. “It was Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Second.”

“Mom?” Betty’s wide eyes looked back to her mother and her voice involuntarily changed into a pained whisper as a new suspicion surfaced and everything started to make sense. “He’s Chic’s dad, isn’t he?”

The moment Elizabeth spoke, Alice’s head quickly turned to her intelligent young daughter. “What?” She quickly let go of Betty’s hands.

“He is, isn’t he?”

“Why would you-”

“No wonder Dad has been super weird since Chic showed up. He knows he’s not his, doesn’t he?” Alice’s lack of a response caused Betty to reach up and hold her own head with both hands. “Oh my God! How am I supposed to tell Jug all of thi-”

“You won’t.” Alice interrupted with a hint of panic in her tone. “No. Please don’t say anything. FP’s return is supposed to be a surprise for Jughead.” She tried to smile to make it better. “Don’t ruin that with this. Please? Just keep this a little secret for now.”

“Secret? Why is everything about secrets with you? This is gonna crush him.” Betty folded her hands on top of her head.

“I know. I know. So please...don’t say a word until it’s the right time. And don’t tell Polly anything. She’s been so happy since the babies were born and since Chic got here. She somehow thinks everything is gonna be a happy ending now.” She paused before sadly continuing. “Betty, I can see it in her eyes that Jason’s absence is actually really affecting her, but she’s hidden it somewhere deep within. I don’t want this to make her spiral downward. Okay? Please?”

Betty let her hands fall from her head and she looked back at FP’s trailer, wondering what would be the right thing to do.

* * *

 

 

**_A/N: Okay. I am so glad I got to write Alice handing it to Betty here. Honestly, I had a similar relationship with my mother in high school where I thought that I was always right and I thought my mother was evil and controlling. But now I love my mom so so much and we’re really close and I know that everything she ever did was for my benefit and she’s just trying to be a good mother. I guess maybe that’s why I love Alice so much. Because I know that her intentions are pure and as a human, yes, she makes some mistakes. And frankly...I don’t get where the writers of this show think it’s okay to keep writing Betty’s snarky lines to her mother. They at least shouldn’t have Alice let her get away with them. If I ever spoke to my mom the way 16 year old Betty does with Alice, or even the way Veronica talks to her parents, I would be slapped into the middle of the next decade. And I’m almost 21. (Sorry, I had to get that off my chest). I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. There will be a new one soon. MWAH!_ **


	26. Her Act

Right after Betty made her promise to never speak a word of this to anyone, Alice drove her home and she texted Jughead to forget about meeting at his dad’s trailer. She lied and sent a mass text to the friend group about how she wasn’t feeling too well and she was just gonna go home and hang out in her room for the night. The moment she and Alice stepped into the house, her mother’s attitude warped into her usual peppy self. 

“Where were you all day, Alice?” Hal wondered when they entered. “I waited for you all day at the Register and you never showed up.”

“There was a problem with the paperwork at the daycare center, so I had to stay longer and sort that out, then I had some errands to run and time just slipped from me. I’m sorry.” Alice responded as she set her car keys on their hook by the front door.

“Okay.” Hal replied in an unconvinced tone, just leaving out the ‘yeah’ before ‘okay.’ He didn’t quite believe her anymore, but he also didn’t quite care much. He COULDN’T care anymore. This little game between the two of them was beginning to get very exhausting and he felt himself not wanting to fight for it anymore.

Betty found Alice’s ability to think of a lie so quickly quite impressive yet heartbreaking. When she walked into the living room, she saw Polly sitting on the floor, playing peek-a-boo with both twins. She thought of joining them, but continued to walk passed, heading for the stairs to be alone in her room for the rest of the night. 

When she made it up into her room, she closed and locked the door behind her. The first thing she did was reach up and pull out her hair tie, letting her high ponytail fall upon her shoulders. She put her fingers in her messy hair, massaging her head as she walked over to her bed to sit on the edge of it. At first, she just sat there, staring off into the abyss. Her head eventually turned to look at the drawer of her dresser that she kept her diary in. She should write it all down. She should get it out of her head before it explodes. She should let it out before she told someone she shouldn’t. But she couldn't. She just couldn’t. She couldn’t stand. She couldn’t bring herself over to the other side of the room. She couldn’t find the strength to even move. She just sat there. Looking around. Hoping this was all some horrible, horrible nightmare.

Eventually, her hand reached up to touch the side of her face where her mother had hit her. She had been so angry the moment it happened, but now...she felt something other than anger. Almost pity. And soon….guilt. Everything her mother had said to her played back in her mind on repeat. But one specific thing caused her stomach to tense up whenever she heard it in her mind again. Alice and FP were going to bury their feelings all for the sake of her and Jughead?

She sighed, putting her hands to her forehead before falling back onto her bed. She laid there, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what her life had become. How would she keep all of these secrets? From so many important people? How could she stop two people from being happy for her own happiness with Jughead? How could all of this had spiraled out of control so quickly? 

She closed her eyes, feeling the rush of thousands of emotions she hadn’t known existed and soon, she fell asleep. 

About an hour later, Betty woke up to a knock on her bedroom door. She cleared her throat and slowly sat up. “Betty?” Polly’s voice came from the other side. She watched as the doorknob turned while her big sister on the other side realized it was locked. She knocked once more. “Betty, are you alright?” 

The younger blonde stretched her arms before running her fingers through her hair and she slowly stood, walking over to the door to unlock and open it. On the other side, she was shocked to see Jughead, Archie, Kevin, and Veronica in the hall with her sister. “Hey, B.” Veronica weakly smiled in the doorway. 

“Mind if we come in?” Juggy asked, just as Veronica walked in without waiting for an answer. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Betty asked, suddenly remembering she probably didn’t look her best. 

“We came to check on you.” Kevin said, entering her room as well.

“They were worried.” Polly said, following Archie in. 

“Yeah. It’s not really a fun night out without Betty Cooper.” Kevin said, sitting on the stool at her vanity mirror. 

“You said you didn’t feel good. Do you need anything?” Jughead offered. A large smile suddenly grew on his face. “My dad surprised me and came home today. Maybe I can text him to bring you something.”

“No, no. I’m fine.” She tried to fake a smile, though the thought of FP just brought instant tears to her eyes. “I’m just…” She wanted to let them know that everything was fine and dandy, but her act was getting so exhausting, she couldn’t do it anymore. She forced herself to smile, hoping it would stop her tears. Jughead noticed right away.

“Hey, hey.” He softly said, stepping closer to her. He put a hand on her cheek and attempted to look into her eyes while she looked away. “What’s wrong?” He asked with so much love and concern that the others began to feel concerned as well.

“What is it, B?” Veronica asked, moving closer to them. 

“We’re here for you. You know that, right?” Kevin said from near the vanity. 

“Are you okay, Betty?” Polly asked.

“What’s going on?” Archie wondered.

“Hey.” Jughead said once more, using his hand to slowly lift her chin, forcing her to look up at him. 

Finally, she let it go. She couldn’t hold it back any longer. The tears streamed down her face and getting words out had now become impossible. Jughead wasted no time in pulling her head into his chest, hugging her closely to him. She wrapped her arms around his back, sobbing into him while Kevin, Archie, Veronica, and Polly all moved in for a tight group hug around her.


	27. Fighting

Alice climbed out of the shower, clutching the towel around her body. She turned, wiping the steam from the mirror as she looked at her reflection. She put her finger to her lips, remembering FP’s touch. Missing it. She couldn’t help but long for it once more. She closed her eyes, imagining herself with him as she bit her lower lip. Her left hand reached across her body to embrace her right shoulder. Enticingly tilting her head to one side, her eyes still closed, she slid her hand across her wet chest from one shoulder to the other. Her right hand clenched the towel as she pictured herself with him.

Opening her eyes, she propped her head upright again before sighing with disappointment. She bit one of her fingernails as a part of her felt silly and she turned away from the mirror to put on her pajamas.

After changing and brushing her teeth, she reached inside her bathroom cabinet for her hair dryer and hair curlers. When she pulled them out, she tapped a finger on them for a moment as she debated something. Squinting, she realized she didn’t feel up to dealing so vividly with her hair. She put the curlers back inside the cabinet and quickly brushed her wet locks before lazily drying it enough to go to bed. For the first time since high school, Alice Cooper was not going to worry about a perfectly done hairdo. With her hair still a bit damp and without a care in the world about the effort, she heedlessly finished up in the bathroom and walked out into her bedroom.

Hal sat on the bed, looking over some notes for the next day’s paper when he quickly looked up to his wife joining him in the bedroom. Her physical state caused him to give her a double take and she pretended not to notice. She nonchalantly made her way into the bed beside him and she, right away, laid down on her side, facing away from him. “Night, Hal.” She said in an abrasive tone.

“Goodnight.” He responded in an equally irreverent one.

A few moments passed filled with silence between them before Alice abruptly sat up and turned to look at him. “FP got out today.”

Hal ripped off his reading glasses and turned to look at her. “What?!” He irritatedly dropped the papers into his lap. “Why didn’t you tell me this? We had the article on his release ready for print almost a week ago. We could’ve had that printed in tomorrow’s paper, Alice.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about the Register in any of this.” She admitted.

“Alright. Well, what WERE you thinking about?”

“Chic. And if I should tell them both.” She waited for an angry response, but instead, Hal just briefly raised an eyebrow before looking back at the paper in his lap. He returned his glasses to his face and picked it up to continue reading. “What? No snide comment about how I’m ruining that boy’s life? Or ours, for that matter?”

“Mmm...nope.” He said, reading on. “I’ve got nothing to say anymore.”

“You don’t?” She asked, squinting at him beside her.

“Nope.” He took his glasses off again to look back at her. “You never listen to me.” He pointed out. “So just go ahead and do what you want, Alice.” He put his glasses back on again. “I’m done fighting.”

Her expression turned from suspicious to immediately anxious. “You are?” She asked in an oddly sad tone.

“Yes. I’m done.” He spoke without even looking at her and she slowly turned her body to face forward as she thought about those words. “I’ve lost my will to care.” He admitted, reading on.

The moment she heard those six words, her heart dropped and she internally gasped.

&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

_*22 Years Ago*_

_16 year old Alice Smith sat at the edge of young Hal Cooper’s bed, staring at his powder blue wall. She held one of his sheets up to her bare chest before looking back at Hal beside her, barely awake. “Hal?” She nudged his arm. “Hal.” She said once more, attempting to wake him._

_“Hmm?” He groaned, turning his head a bit and slowly opening his eyes._

_“Hal...I don’t feel right about tonight.” She felt sick to her stomach, but thankfully enough, her morning sickness hadn’t caused her to vomit yet. “Can we talk about it, please?”_

_“Mmmm….YOU talk about it.” He joked as he turned over once more, too tired to speak._

_Alice let out a petite giggle before hitting him in the back. “Come on, Hal. I’m serious!” She grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled it, forcing him to sit up straight in his bed._

_Hal let out a long sigh before stretching and blinking his eyes fully open. “What is it?” He asked. “You know that we’re way too young and not ready for any of this. After tonight, everything will be settled and we can move on with our lives.” He wrapped his arms around her naked frail body and she closed her eyes with a sigh._

_“But something just feels off, Hal.” He groaned and let go of her. “It’s very dangerous. And not just for the baby, but for me too.” She watched him pinch the bridge of his nose with frustration. “I could die, Hal. OR get very sick OR never be able to have children in the future.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I can go through with the abortion.”_

_“Of course you don’t.” He angrily let his hand fall to his own knee, slapping it so its noise frightened Alice. “But this is the best option for you. Okay? You’re too young and naive to raise a kid and let’s face it...I am nowhere NEAR ready to be a father. And FP sure as shit won’t do anything to help!”_

_“You don’t know that.” She spoke very gently._

_“Yes, I do, Alice! That Southside scum won’t-”_

_“Southside scum?” She repeated, hoping he would stop and realize who he was talking to._

_“Not you, babe. You know what I mean. You’re different than him, alright? You’re different than all of them. You’re Alice Smith and you’re the complete opposite of scum.” He put his arms around her again and kissed her on the shoulder. “I just mean that FP Jones is definitely not the type to raise a kid, especially hanging around that gang of miscreants, alright?” He kissed her shoulder again. “That’s all I meant.”_

_“What about adoption?” She offered._

_Hal sighed. “It’s too complicated. There’s too much paperwork involved and the courts and stuff.”_

_“Oh. So you just want the easy way out?” She pulled away from him, escaping his grip. “Murder.”_

_“Alice, it’s not-”_

_“It IS murder, Hal.” She looked down at her shaking hands. “Well...maybe it’s not. But I don’t wanna feel guilty about it for the rest of my life.”_

_“Alice…” Hal began._

_“It’s either adoption or I’m done with you and I go back to FP and tell him everything.” She interrupted, turning her body to fully face him on the bed._

_He took a moment to think and he let his head fall with sorrow and disappointment. “Alice...please?”_

_“Hal, I’m not doing this with you anymore!” She raised her voice, standing from the bed with the sheet still around her. “I don’t know how much longer I can take all this fighting with you.”_

_“Alice, we’re not fighting.” He stood from the bed as well, putting on a pair of shorts in the process._

_“No. But we’re about to fight. Just like always. And I’m so tired of it. I really am.” She felt the pain in her stomach increasing._

_“Alice...do you wanna know why I’m always fighting with you?” He looked at her tearful eyes and slowly stepped toward her, taking her waist into his hands. “I love you. All I want is to stay with you.” Hal sat back on the bed, pulling her into his lap. “And I’m afraid that having this baby in our lives might ruin our relationship. I don’t wanna lose you because of yours and FP’s little mistake.” He sighed with irritation. “If you think that adoption is the best way to go, then fine. But we’re gonna do it right. My parents know of this little place on the outskirts of town called Sisters of Quiet Mercy. It’s a pretty expensive place, but I’ll fight with my parents until I lose my voice to pay for you to go. The Sisters will help with all of the complicated adoption papers and stuff so we don’t have to worry about it.” He kissed her neck, causing her to close her eyes before he continued. “I don’t wanna lose you, Alice.” He quietly whispered before she opened her eyes again, looking deeply into his. “I don’t like fighting either, but if that’s what I have to do to keep you with me...then that’s what I’ll do. Couples who don’t fight don’t care enough about keeping each other. That’s a fact.”_

_“Oh, is it?” She laughed when he did._

_“It is.” He nodded with a grin. “Trust me, babe.” He poked her on the nose. “The day that I stop fighting with you or for you...is the day that you should worry.” They kissed. “I love you, Alice. I’ll always fight for you.”_

_She wrapped her arms around his neck as she sat in his lap. She softly hummed with her eyes closed before telling him the truth. “I love you, too.”_

&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%&%&%&%&&&%&%&%&%&%&%&

*Present Day*

Alice sat beside her husband, staring at the wall across from her, realizing how bad things had gotten between them. They’d finally reached that time and place. The one where Hal stopped fighting with and for her.


	28. No Idea What To Do

The next morning, Alice gasped as she woke up, immediately sitting up straight in her bed. She looked over at Hal sleeping beside her. Putting a hand to her forehead, she sighed at the dream she'd been having. Reliving it, she thought of the white room she was in, surrounded by busy doctors.

_At first confused, Alice looked around, wondering what she was doing in the hospital. Then, it hit her. That familiar pain. She let out a violent scream, squeezing the hand she hadn’t realized she was holding._

_“Push! Push!” Shouted a warped voice beside her. She clenched her eyes shut as another sharp pain came. The sweat dripped down her forehead and her golden hair stuck to it on both sides. After unsuccessfully pushing, she leaned her head back against the hospital pillow, trying to catch her breath. “Come on, keep pushing.” The warped voice demanded._

_“I can’t.” She cried, shaking her head no._

_“Yes, you can.” The muffled sound from the voice slowly began to disappear, causing her to soon recognize it. “You’ve got this, Ace. Come on. Push.” She looked to the man who held her hand beside her and immediately, she felt comfortable. It was FP. But twenty years ago. “Come on, you can do it. One more. Push!” He said, gripping her hand._

_She stared at him for a moment, realizing this was what could have been and she sobbed before obeying and she pushed once more with a loud scream. The cries from her infant caused her to let out a sigh of relief and she relaxed her body, letting her head fall back onto the pillow once more._

_“You did it!” 17 year old FP exclaimed, kissing the back of her hand. “I’m so proud of you.”_

_The doctor cut the umbilical cord and took their crying son to the other side of the room to clean him. Alice weakly smiled to her boyfriend beside her as she attempted to regulate her breathing. The excited look on FP’s face gave her peace and soon, her breathing slowed._

_“Doctor!” One of the nurses yelled. “Doctor, we need you!”_

_“What? What’s going on?” FP looked around at the panicked nurses._

_“She’s hemorrhaging. We’re gonna lose her!” The head nurse shouted, pushing FP back, ripping his hand out of Alice’s grip._

_“No, no! Alice? Alice! Don’t you dare die on me!” He said, reaching his hand out to her, though the nurses refused to let him touch her._

_Young Alice sighed with a smile while her vision grew blurry and FP was ripped away from her. “I love you, FP.” She basically whispered as she slowly slipped away._

_“No, Alice! Alice!” FP cried. “I love you, too!”_

It was then that present Alice woke up from her dream, confused, overwhelmed, and devastated. Would that have been the outcome had she stayed with FP? Would she have died during childbirth? Would she had been ripped away from him even if they stayed together? What was it about their fate that promised them they couldn’t have their happy ending?

She looked to Hal once more, praying he would stay asleep. Thinking of the dream and thinking of Hal’s words the night before, she let herself feel it all and she cried.

When she finally calmed down a bit and she wiped away her tears, she got up and went to her closet, grabbing the most lazy outfit she could find and heading down the stairs, not even bothering with her hair. She ran her fingers through it and gave it a flip, then left Hal alone in the bedroom.

When she reached the last step, she was surprised to see Elizabeth sitting at the dining room table. “Hey.” She quietly said when they made eye contact.

“Hey.” Betty responded.

Alice walked by her, heading into the kitchen to look in the fridge. She quickly closed it and sat on the chair beside her youngest. “Everyone can have cereal this morning. I don’t feel like cooking breakfast.” Betty slowly nodded, staring down at the table in front of her. Alice watched her avoid looking toward her and she sighed. “Bet...Betty, about yesterday.” She whispered. “I am so so sorry that I slapped you.”

“No. No.” Betty finally looked at her. “You were right...aaaand I deserved it.” She slowly reached for her mother’s hand, holding it in both of hers upon the table. “Can I ask you something?” She looked to the staircase, hoping the other two were still sleeping.

“Yes.” Alice stared down at their hands, actually shocked that Betty was the one to reach for hers.

“Do you still love FP?” She asked very quietly.

“Elizabeth-”

“It’s okay. I just...I wanna know. Do you?” Betty tried her best to hide the internal battle that she fought within herself.

“I…” Alice hesitated, unsure of what she felt anymore, especially after the talk with Hal last night. “I don’t know what’s going on with me. I do love your father...and I meant what I said when he and I got married.”

“What was that?”

“That I would stay with him for better or for worse.” She looked down at the table.

“It...sounds like there’s a ‘but’ in there.” Betty looked down at their hands again.

Alice quietly sobbed before she whispered. “I don’t know what to do.” She let her tears fall again that morning while Elizabeth gave her hand a comforting squeeze. Alice tried her best to stop her crying and she pulled her hand out of Betty’s grip to wipe away her tears. She let out a ridiculous laugh. “I’m pretty sure your father hates me now.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “And who knows what FP’s gonna think of me after he finds out I’ve been keeping Chic’s presence here a secret.”

Without a clue what to say, Betty just leaned over in her chair, pulling her mother in for a tight hug as a part of her continued to panic about everything.

Meanwhile, that morning at Sunnyside Trailer Park, Jughead woke up with a large grin plastered on his face. He sat at the table in the kitchen, eating his bowl of cereal with a positive energy.

“Good morning, son.” FP smiled at him when he entered the room.

“Morning, Dad.” Jug took another excited bite of his food.

“It’s so good to be home.” His father admitted as he poured himself a bowl and sat across from Juggy.

“It’s so good to have you home.”

“So, how was it with your foster family? Did they treat you right?” FP wondered with a hint of warning in his tone.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah. They were great. We didn’t see each other much, because I spent most of my time at school or at Pop’s.” Jughead chuckled at his half of a lie.

“Well, there’s no surprise there.” His father laughed. “So, are you gonna start up at Riverdale High again next week?” He took a sip of his orange juice.

“Mmm...I don’t know. I think I kinda like it at Southside High, to be honest.”

“Really? What about Betty?”

“We still see each other a lot. Nothing much has really changed. Sure we don’t have the same classes anymore, but we didn’t really have a lot of the same classes anyway. Even if I stayed at Southside High...it wouldn’t really make much of a difference.”

“Does she feel the same way?” FP asked before taking another bite of his cereal.

“I don’t know...I haven’t really talked about it with her yet. I’m supposed to see her tonight, so maybe we can-”

“Didn’t you just see her last night?”

“Yeah, but the whole friend group was there and I’d rather talk to her about it alone.” He took a bite as well before continuing. “Plus, she was a little depressed last night.”

“Depressed? Why?”

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t really say anything. We kinda just all sat there and supported her, but no one really said much. I think she just got into a fight with her mom about something.”

“About what?” FP asked a little too quickly.

“I don’t know. Her parents have been going through something lately. It could have something to do with that.”

FP cleared his throat. “Or it could have something to do with the fact that you and her skipped school a couple weeks ago to follow Alice to the prison.” He took a sip of his orange juice, never taking a judgmental eye off of Jughead.

“What? What are you-?” Jug began to laugh, but then he realized FP wasn’t joking. “You know about that?”

“Oh yeah.” His dad set down his glass. “We know about that.”

Juggy crossed his arms on the table and looked down at the floor for a second before looking back into his father’s eyes. “What was she seeing you about anyway?” He asked without hesitation.

“That’s none of your business, boy.” FP responded, continuing to eat.

Jughead watched his dad eat for a while before remembering what was really important to him. He smiled before speaking again. “Well, all that matters is that you’re home now.”

“That’s right.” Mr. Jones smiled, reaching over the small table to pat his son on the shoulder.

“Everything’s starting to work out so well, now.” Juggy added with contented disbelief.

“Oh yeah? How’s that?”

“Well...you’re home now. I can choose to go back to the Northside if I want to. And Betty finally got to meet her brother, Chic. It’s all just-”

“Whoa! What?” FP stopped him. "Her brother, Chic?"

“Yeah, Betty has a brother apparently. Mrs. Cooper had him in high school, I guess. Funny, huh? She was so judgmental of Polly being a teen mom and it turns out...so was she.” He chuckled to himself, taking another sip of his own drink. “Yeah, I guess they met him a few days ago or something and he’s been to visit them a few times since.”

“Really?” FP stared at the wall behind his son as Jughead stood with his bowl and he brought it to the sink.

“That’s what Betty said.” Jughead quickly rinsed off his dish and he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth before grabbing his backpack and heading for the door. “I gotta go to school, Dad. I’ll see you later. Love ya.”

“Love you too.” FP said quietly, still staring off into the abyss as he ground his teeth together with a sudden need to speak with Alice.


	29. He Should Know

That morning, Hal and Alice rode to work in their separate cars, as usual. Though when they both arrived, Hal went in before her as she sat in her car for awhile, wondering where things had gone so wrong. She sighed before looking at herself in the mirror, realizing she had forgotten to do her makeup entirely. She shrugged it off and went inside to work.

Later that afternoon, FP came storming into the Register with the little box containing Alice’s fountain pen in his hand.

Upon FP’s arrival, Hal stood, walking up to him to somewhat greet him. But the moment Mr. Cooper opened his mouth, FP spoke, walking right by him. “Hi, Hal.” He said in an off-putting tone. He brushed by Hal, heading straight for Alice’s desk. She looked up, taking off her glasses before standing upon his presence. She, too, opened her mouth to speak, but was instantly interrupted. “You forgot your fucking pen.” FP said just before slamming the box down on the desk beside him, causing Alice to jump.

“FP.” She began, ready to ask him where his anger had stemmed from.

“I know about Chic!” There was her answer. “You didn’t tell me?!”

“I-” She started, but he interrupted.

“Are you trying to keep my son from me?” He moved closer to her, bringing himself face to face with the reporter. “Again?!” He turned to point at Hal. “Was this all his fucking idea? Huh?”

“FP, listen…” Hal tried to jump in.

“No, no! YOU listen! Alright! You tried to keep the truth from me back in high school! That that baby was MINE the whole time? And you tried making her get an abortion? Then you give him up for adoption without my permission!” He looked back to Alice for a brief moment before returning his glare back to Hal. “You two really ARE the couple from Hell, aren’t ya?”

“FP, no. Listen.” Alice spoke quite softly.

“NO!” He shouted, pointing back at her. “Fuck you, Alice!”

“HEY! You watch the way you speak to her.” Hal demanded from in front of his desk. “Alright? We did what was best for Chic back then and we’re only trying to do that now.”

“No...YOU! You did what was best for YOU!” FP yelled. “You didn’t even do what was best for Alice!” He stepped away from her and moved closer to Hal, getting in his face.

“Everything I have done has been what was best for her.” Mr. Cooper spoke with a conniving hiss in his tone.

“Oh, really?” FP said in the middle of Hal’s statement.

“To protect her.” Hal continued.

“Oh, to protect her?” FP backed away from him, standing in between the both of them. He raised his eyebrows. “To...to protec-Okay! Well...did she ever tell you about the night of graduation?”

Tears began to stream down Alice’s face now and she raised her voice as well, shouting at FP. “Shut your fucking mouth!”

“NO!” FP yelled back to her. “He should know!”

“Know...what?!” Hal wondered, looking back and forth between the other two.

FP spoke over Alice’s sobs. “That night when you were out drinking and partying with your bros...you were too much of a big head to even realize that Alice had been picked up by some guy who raped her. So she called me to go and get her.”

“FP!” Alice shouted at him, hitting her chair and unintentionally knocking it over.

Hal rested his hands on his hips, looking to his crying wife. “Wh….Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because she thought that you weren’t gonna believe her.” FP paused for a second before continuing. “She expected you to slut shame her. So, the first person she thought to call….was me…...‘To protect her?’” He scoffed, walking around in a circle before getting up in Hal’s face once more. “Her life went to shit after meeting you!”

“No. Her life went to shit after being knocked up by YOU and becoming a Serpent!” Hal snapped back.

“Would you both just please!?” Alice forced her tears to stop and she walked over to FP, pulling him away from Hal. “He’s my husband, FP. I’m not gonna sit here and listen to your testosterone competition over how MY life turned out.”

“Oh.” FP angrily chuckled. “He’s your husband now? Hmm...what about yesterday? You wouldn’t have considered him your husband at my trailer, huh? Should I tell him about that? Or should we let Betty?”

“What the hell happened yesterday...Alice?” Hal asked with authority.

“Would you like to tell him or shall I?” Forsythe the Second stared down at her, inches from him. When she refused to say another word, he did. “She kissed me.”

“You kissed him?!” Hal looked at her with menacing eyes.

“Yeah...and she would’ve done a lot more had it not been for Betty walking in on us.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, FP!?” Alice started to cry again, only this time out of anger, and she pushed him.

“Are YOU fucking kidding?” Hal asked his wife.

“I wanna see my son. And I want him to know the truth.” FP commanded, walking toward Alice. She moved backward, almost bumping into the large printer behind her as he bent down to look into her eyes. “I’m fucking done with you.” He put his arms up as he walked backwards and turned to leave the Register. They watched him through the glass windows hop into his truck and speed away. Alice’s sobs continued while she saw him leave and she put a hand up to her forehead.

“Was everything he just said true?” Hal calmly asked after a moment of silence. She didn’t answer right away, so he repeated himself, only this time...with a shout. “Was everything he just said...true?!”

“Hal, listen-” She began through broken sobs.

“You thought I would slut shame you after being raped?” He walked closer to her. “Seriously, Alice? You must not think very highly of me….And then to top it all off, you called HIM? And you told him about Chic being his son after I specifically said that-” He inhaled, covering his mouth. “Now look what you’ve done.” He pointed out the window, gesturing to the man who just left. “You’ve now linked him to our family for the rest of our lives by telling him, Alice!”

“He deserved to know the truth, alright? It was eating away at me and I just...I caved. Keeping it a secret from him was never my intention anyway.” She admitted.

“Oh. Just like keeping it in your pants wasn’t either?” The moment he said it, Alice’s hand went right across his face. Her slap was followed by a few hard shoves and Hal grabbed both of her arms, pushing her back into the wall near the copy machine. “What is it with you, Alice? Huh? All I’ve ever done was love you and you continued to defy me.” He loosened his grip so as not to hurt her, but he wouldn’t let go. He dropped his head, crying for a short period of time before looking back up into her already wet eyes. “You want a divorce? Is that it?”

“No, Hal. No.” She shook her head, moving her hands up to hold his face. “I don’t want a divorce.”

He pushed himself away from her, taking a step back. “That’s too bad.” He reached for his wedding ring around his finger. “Because you just got one.” He pulled the ring off and slammed it against the wall beside her, causing her to jump before he turned away, heading for the door as well. He waited until he got to the door before he spoke again. “I’m going for a walk...When I get back, I want you gone.” He sniffled and left the building.

Alice’s hand reached up to cover her mouth as she slowly slid down the wall as one of her old panic attacks came back to haunt her for the first time in 24 years.

* * *

 

 

_**A/N: Okay. Wow. My Falice AND Halice shipper heart just died. Wowowow! I was not expecting this chapter to turn out the way it did but whew! I’m glad I finished it. I know this was probably such a HUGE roller coaster ride of emotions for you guys, but I still hope you liked it(?). Please leave some comments! And have a MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HANUKKAH! JOYOUS KWANZAA! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! All that good stuff! MWAH!** _


	30. Nothing

The warm sun beat down upon Riverdale that afternoon, though all Alice felt was the chilled, measly, dark cloud that seemed to follow, slowly metastasizing as it traveled with her. In her car, she felt more than isolation from just the town, but from the world. She had driven toward the outskirts of town with the box of her stuff from work in the passenger seat beside her. Not only had her marriage crumbled that day, but so had her job and her hopes of having a friendship with FP, all in one. When she finally made it to one of the uncommon back roads of the town, she pulled over on the shoulder, turning off the car. She just sat there. No tears. No anger. No thoughts, Just emptiness. That hole in her heart had finally taken its toll on her and she began to wonder how long it'd be until she hadn't a heart at all. 

Staring out the windshield ahead of her, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel, replaying her entire life within her mind. A part of her hated her sudden sense of apathy and carelessness for it all. Prior to Hal's disappearance at the Register, she had cried herself into a sort of lockdown. As she packed up her desk, she forced herself to forget the past month. 

In the car on the side of the road, she realized she had been frozen in that state. Closing her eyes, she remembered everything. Her kids, her marriage, her childhood, her life. Her failures and successes. Her mistakes and decisions. She thought of it all, hoping to unfreeze her emotions. She needed to feel it all again. Though she knew it would hurt, she had to. She wanted to. She began to wonder if all the hurt she'd gone through was just well-deserved payback for any wrong she had ever done. Yes....She knew she deserved it.

She remembered that first day in grade school, meeting young FP Jones. Her heart recalled her sadness when she often went home alone, with no friends to speak of. Her loneliness as a child had spun into her adulthood and that thought caused her heart to beat again, though not enough. That first day of middle school...when she made a presentation in class and the other kids laughed at her, only she laughed at them inside, knowing they were scum. Though a part of her still hurt. Not a single person around her knew how she felt. Not one. Then...that day in seventh grade...FP stood up to a bully for another kid and Alice stood on the other side of the hallway, watching. It was then she finally knew what butterflies felt like. Then...in high school, their first kiss, their second kiss, their first date at the Drive-in, their first time at Sweetwater River. She thought of every moment she looked at him as a teenager, feeling everything once again. She thought of the Serpents and the break up. She remembered how her anxiety attacks felt without FP and how they disappeared when she met Hal. Hal was always comfortable. She always told herself that Hal saved her. She ruined that when she found out she was pregnant. She wanted the baby, but she couldn't have him. She had two daughters who used to think the world of her, but now? Nothing. They thought nothing of her. And so did her husband. And....so did he. The one. FP Jones. 

Finally, her heart unfroze and the tears fell again. She placed her elbow on the car door beside her, resting her head in her hand and crying in the silence of her vehicle. 

When she finally stopped, she looked on ahead, re-starting her car and continuing to drive. 

Standing outside of the apartment door, she knocked with a shaking of her sad hand. It had to be done. The secrets would finally be spilled and the dirt of her past would be out in the open. 

"Mrs. Cooper?" Chic said the moment he opened the front door. "Wh-what are you doing here?" 

"I need to talk to you. It's important." She said as she anxiously fiddled with the sleeve of her coat. 

"Come on in." He hesitated before stepping aside to let her in. After closing the door when she entered, he turned and watched her awkwardly stand in the middle of the room. "Uh...would you like some water or something?"

"No. I, um..." She turned to face him and made her hands into terrified fists. "I might not be here very long." She sighed, looking down and closing her eyes before getting right to the point. "I just have one thing to say and I know that you might hate me after, but I want you to know that if I could do it all again much differently...I definitely would."

"Oh....kay?" Chic placed his hands into his sweatshirt pocket, still standing in front of the door. 

"Your-" She paused, taking in a deep breath to stop her slight feeling of nausea. "Your father was one of the best men I ever knew. He and I met when I was seven years old and I fell in love with him when I was twelve. As you know...the Southside is not the best place to grow up and things back then, believe it or not, were much worse than they are now. We were so in love in high school, but things got in the way of our relationship and eventually, we ended it. But not before we conceived you." She pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing. "After things were over between us, I moved to the Northside and met Hal...Mr. Cooper. About two months later we found out about you and decided to keep your real father a secret. He had been caught up in gang-related things and we thought it best to keep you away from that. When we, regretfully, gave you up, we knew that we'd be lousy parents at our age and we didn't want to ruin your life. I know that doesn't excuse the secrets and the lies, but when you showed up on our doorstep the other day, I didn't want to overwhelm you with the truth about your biological father or give you any reason to hate me anymore than you already did." She felt herself wanting to cry again, but she held it back. "I was selfish in not telling you. I know that now. But..." She sniffled. "I came to let you know that your father would love to meet you...if you are okay with that."

"I-" Chic began to speak, but Alice's phone rang.

She sighed, not wanting to answer, but Chic gestured his hand, letting her know it was okay for her to pick it up and she did. "Hey, Betty." She pepped up her voice a bit, hoping Hal hadn't told her or Polly the divorce news yet. "Wait, wait. Slow down. What's wrong?" She listened intently to her daughter on the other end, feeling her heart pound with every sound of Betty's sobs. "Calm down, baby. I'll be right there." She hung up, feeling her nerves beginning to crash as she looked to her son. "I...I have to go. I'm sorry." Chic reached for the door handle, opening it for her. As she walked out, she stopped on the doorstep to look back at him and quietly cried out, "I'm sorry" before rushing to her car and driving away.


	31. Mistakes

"Betty?" Alice jumped out of her car, quickly closing the door and stepping around it to bring herself closer to her distressed daughter. "Betty, sweetie." Just outside of Pop's Diner, Alice put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "What happened?" She asked the crying teen who refused to speak. "Come on." Mrs. Cooper put a motherly arm around Elizabeth, guiding her to the car and leaving the small parking lot. "Baby, will you please tell me what's going on? I could barely hear you over the phone."

Forcing herself to stop crying, Betty inhaled, getting ready to speak as she leaned her elbow against the passenger side door while they headed home. "Juggy joined the Serpents."

Alice's heart sank and she immediately flashed back to her Junior year. "What?"

"Behind my back, Mom." Betty sniffled. "I told him that it was either the Serpents or me and well..."

Mrs. Cooper angrily squinted with a slight shake of her head. "Those Serpents are more loyal than dogs.” She took one hand off the steering wheel, touching Betty’s leg beside her for comfort. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. But I’m glad you didn’t-” She paused.

“Didn’t what?”

The older of the two sighed. “I’m glad you didn’t make the same mistake I did by following that boy into that gang of felons.”

Elizabeth let her elbow drop from the car door and she turned to look at Alice. “So, it’s true? You WERE a Serpent.”

Another sigh came from her mother. “Yes. It’s true. But eventually I realized how bad things were getting and I got out.”

“How? Jug said that they’re extremely hell bent on ‘once a Serpent, always a Serpent.’” She wiped away her tears. “How’d you get out?”

“I just left.” Alice rolled her eyes to herself. “That whole motto that they live by is complete bullshit, Betty. If you truly wanna get out, then you can. You...just...leave. If a Serpent says that they can’t and they make up excuses where they quote the ridiculous Serpent laws or speak about some deal they made with the leader...then they truly don’t wanna leave. I DID. And I’m happy I did, because now I’ve got you.” She turned to smile at her daughter, whose crying finally stopped. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. And I’ve gotta be honest...ever since you started dating that boy I’ve been afraid you’d go down the same path as your dear old mother. I followed FP into those Serpents and it may as well had ruined my life. Thank God you have a great head on your shoulders.”

“That’s only because you raised me into thinking people like the Serpents are highly immoral and are only thought of when the crime rates in town rise. You’ve always warned Polly and I to stay away from gangs or gang members.”

“That’s right!” Alice proudly patted her daughter on the knee before finally putting her right hand back on the wheel.

As they drove on, Betty looked at the seat behind her mother’s and she saw the box of office supplies. “Mom?” She looked to Alice. “Isn’t that the family photo you keep on your desk at the Register?”

Mama Coop sighed. “Yeah. Your father fired me again.”

“What? Why?”

Alice looked into Betty’s eyes, grabbing her hand as she spoke. “We’ll talk about it when we get home, darling...All of us.”

Betty glared at her mom for a moment before facing forward again and imagining the worst.

&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Jughead Jones the Third made his way into his father’s trailer, followed by a slam of the front door when he entered.

“Hey, hey, hey!” FP came out of his bedroom, already pointing a finger at his son. “Don’t you go around slamming doors. You’re better than that.”

“Oh...Dad. Sorry.” Juggy responded. “I didn’t know you were home. Where’s your truck?”

“It’s in the shop.” FP let out a sigh of frustration. “Brakes are starting to go. What are you doing home? I thought you had a date with the Cooper girl.”

“Mmmm...nope!” Jughead dropped his backpack on the chair in the living room. “That’s why I’m slamming doors.” He hissed through gritted teeth. “She broke up with me.”

“What?”

“She broke up with me.” Juggy repeated, holding back tears. He walked over to the kitchen table and plopped himself down in one of the chairs.

“Why would she do that? I thought you two were getting serious.” FP rubbed the stubble on his chin with his thumb before sitting at the table as well.

“Yeah, well she wasn’t too happy with me for-” He stopped.

“For what?” There was no answer. “For what, Jughead?”

The 16 year old sighed and slowly stood. “It was supposed to be a surprise for you, but-” He turned around, revealing the Serpent symbol on his jacket.

The moment his old man saw it, he immediately stood. “Jughead, you-”

“I joined ‘em.” Juggy proudly turned around with a smile. “For you, Dad. Now we can take down the Ghoulies together.”

“Jughead, I LEFT the Serpents.” FP revealed.

“You what? Why?”

“I was just in jail, Jug. I was almost given a life sentence.”

“Yeah, for helping Mr. Blossom cover up a murder. Not for being a Serpent.” Juggy thought he should point out.

“You don’t get it, boy!” FP shouted. “The reason I was chosen to cover up a murder was BECAUSE of the fact that I was a Serpent. I left them to get my life together. So I could have a better one. So YOU could have a better one.” He covered his mouth with both of his hands. “What were you thinking? Do you know how much I ruined my life by joining those guys? Do you know how much I ruined OTHER PEOPLE’S live by making that mistake?”

“What are you talking about?” Jughead furrowed his brow in confusion.

The ex-Serpent leader hesitated before responding again. “I’m talking about you, your mother, Jellybean! Do you realize how much better our lives could be had I not been a part of this bullshit? Hell, even your girlfriend’s life would be a bit less complicated.”

“What does Betty have to do with all of this?”

“Oh, it’s not just her. It’s the Coopers. All of them. And….” He stopped, remembering who he was talking to as he almost let the secret of Chic slip out.

“Dad….I love being a Serpent. They took me in when no one else would while you were gone and I’m not just gonna abandon them now that you’re back. You’re their leader. They need you.” He sat down in his seat at the table again and leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. “Things haven’t been great since you were arrested.”

“What things?” FP asked from near the stove.

Juggy looked up at him. “Things with the Ghoulies are getting out of control. And no one knows what to do because there’s no real leadership within the Serpents without you. Today I told them that you got out yesterday and you should’ve seen their faces. They were all so relieved and excited. Don’t quit on them now, Dad. Don’t quit on me.”

FP thought about it for awhile before he spoke again. “Jughead, I made a promise to myself. No matter how bad things get...I can’t go back to that part of my life. I won’t.”

Juggy looked at him with intensity for a moment before he sighed and responded. “There’s something else, too…..The Snake Charmer.”

FP’s ears practically perked up almost instantly. “Jughead….you didn’t make any deals with her, did you?” His son sighed and he immediately knew the answer.

* * *

 

_**A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry these last two chapters seemed kind of dull. I’m sad to announce that we MAY be getting down to the last 5-10 chapters here (maybe more). But don’t worry, I will continue to write more Falice, just stay tuned with me once this one is over. Look me up on Twitter @MadchenMadness and hopefully I keep hearing from you guys in the future. Thanks for everything. MWAH!** _


	32. Dirt

"What's he doing here?” Alice and Betty were surprised to see Chic sitting outside the Cooper residence by the door when they arrived home.

Alice pulled into the driveway and turned off the car, looking over at her daughter. “I...I told him, Betty. About FP.” She waited for Betty to respond, but she never did.

Mrs. Cooper got out of the car and grabbed her box from the back seat as Betty finally got out herself. They both reluctantly walked over to Chic who stood upon their arrival. A part of Alice sunk into herself as she awaited his wrath or his pain. It never came. “Can I come in?” He calmly asked.

“Yes, of course.” She answered with a gentle tone. Alice approached the front door with the keys. Chic offered to take the box from her so she could open the door. When she did, she waited for both of her kids to enter before her and she followed with uncertainty.”Polly, dear?” She called out.

When there was no answer, she put the keys up on their hook and headed for the kitchen. She looked in, expecting to see the new mother, but instead, she noticed a note attached to the fridge. She stepped over to take it down and read it in her hand. _“Went with Dad to pick up Jason and Gemini at daycare. Then going to the store.”_ Alice sighed, placing the note down on the island in the center of the kitchen and she returned to the living room with her other two children.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Betty asked, feeling anxious about the reason her mother was fired. Again.

Alice stared at Betty for a moment, thinking of a response when she quickly attempted to avoid the subject. “I’ll take that, honey. Thank you.” She took the box from Chic and turned to ascend the staircase with it.

“What? No answer?” Elizabeth asked with a hint of an attitude.

“Betty, I don’t wanna talk about this right now, okay? I think we should all sit down together to have this conversation and we can’t do that right now because your father and sister are not here.” Alice weakly took her first step up the stairs and she went up to set the box in her room before quickly returning. She went back down to see Chic and Betty on the sofa in silence. “Chic.” She started, walking around the couch to look him in the eye. “I know you must hate me-”

“Mrs. Cooper, I don’t hate you.” He cracked the tiniest grin. “I’m glad you waited to tell me about my father.” Betty looked at him beside her with incertitude. “If you had told me the first time we met, I probably would’ve been mad, but I don’t wanna be. It’s okay, really.” He smiled up at her and she slowly sat down on the couch across from them. “When does he wanna meet?”

“I…” Alice couldn’t contain her awe in the one good thing about today. Perhaps that dark cloud decided to take a break. “I don’t know. I’d have to talk to him about that. We never planned a certain time, because I needed to tell you first.”

“Who is he?” Chic wondered.

“Um…” Alice began, averting her eyes from her daughter. “His name is FP Jones. He-”

“I’ve heard of him.” Her son nodded, folding his hands in his lap. “He’s in the Serpents, isn’t he?”

“Well...not anymore.”

“Why not?”

“I...I think that’s something he should talk to you about himself.”

“You could ask Mom why SHE left the Serpents.” Betty muttered beside him.

“What? You...you were a Serpent?” Chic asked with a look of strange exultation.

“I…” Alice closed her eyes, forcing herself not to roll them at her youngest. “Yes, I was. Back in high school. But I moved to the Northside to get away from that part of my life.”

Chic slowly nodded with a grin. “Cool.” He thought to himself about how awesome his parents seemed now.

It was silent for a while as they all just sat there, looking around and wondering what else to say.

Betty thought of how angry she was with Juggy and how anxious she was about her mom getting fired. Alice wondered if Hal would tell Polly about the divorce while they were out. She asked herself if she wanted to save her marriage or let it be. She looked at Chic, wondering what he thought about. He tried to picture Alice as a biker chick and suddenly grew excited to meet his real dad as he couldn’t help but think to himself how lame Hal seemed. A part of him was relieved he wasn’t his father.

“Hey, do you think…” He began, breaking the silence. “Do you think I could meet him today?”

Betty widened her eyes, looking back and forth between Chic and her mother. Alice’s jaw dropped a bit. “Uhhh...I’m not sure. I...I’d have to call him. Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” He fought back the urge to smile wide.

“O-Okay. Um...I’ll give him a call.” Alice stood, leaving the living room, panic-stricken. She turned the corner down the hall near the kitchen, moving out of sight of the other two as her breathing became unsteady. She grew anxious thinking of speaking to him again after what had happened at the Register. She put both hands in her hair, gently pulling it as she attempted to regulate her breathing again. She paced for a couple seconds before finally picking up the home phone and dialing FP’s cell number.

After a few tries, she never received an answer, so she took her own cell phone out of her pants pocket and sent him multiple texts, hoping he wouldn’t ignore them, too.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the train tracks, the Serpents stood on Penny Peabody’s doorstep, FP and Jughead in the front of the gang. FP shook his head in disappointment at his son before he turned and banged on Penny’s front door.

“Oh.” The conniving blonde smiled when she answered it. “FP….Nice to see you’re not behind bars anymore.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against her door frame, looking at the number of members standing behind the Joneses. “What the hell is all of this about?” She smugly smirked at FP.

“It’s just what you said, Penny.” Mr. Jones replied. “Hell. And that’s exactly where you’re gonna end up if you don’t watch your steps. We’re done doing little deeds for you. All of us.”

Penny let out a ridiculous laugh. “Yeah….That’s not gonna happen.”

“Yeah...it is. Because you know what...you don’t run this side of town. You and your little drug corporation can move on over to the Ghoulies because that’s not what we, Serpents are about.”

She laughed again. “When are you gonna quit lying to yourself about that, FP?” She uncrossed her arms and stood up straight. She stepped out and onto the porch, getting in FP’s face. “The Serpents have ALWAYS been about drugs. You know that! Ever since your father took over, the drug trade has only grown but when you took over and banished it, a few of us knew that we had to continue this behind your back, because, let’s face it….You don’t have a spine.” They stared intensely into each other’s eyes for a moment before she looked over to Jughead. “Your son will continue doing these…’little deeds’ for me and there’s nothing you can do about it.” She lowered her voice quite a bit before continuing. “Or shall I let everyone know your little secret?”

Just then, FP’s cell phone rang in his coat pocket and he took it out, looking down at Alice’s name on the screen. He silenced the device before putting it back into his pocket and scowled at Penny. He took a step away from her before turning and heading down the porch steps passed the other Serpents. “Let’s go, Serps.” Most of the other members scoffed with disappointment and confusion before throwing up their arms and turning to follow him.

Soon, Jughead was the only one left on the porch and he gawked at Penny when she went back inside. “Tell your girlfriend, Betty, I said hi.” The despicable woman smiled at him and closed the door with a cocky demeanor.

“Dad!” Jug turned, running off the porch and passing the other Serpents to catch up to FP. “Dad, what was that? You’re just gonna give in to her?”

“I’m not giving in, Jughead!” He ignored the constant vibration of his phone in his jacket. “Before we make ourselves all-out enemies with her, we need to get some more information about her private life, okay? No one really knows anything about her, therefore we’ve got nothing to go on.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Dirt, my son. I’m talking about dirt. It’s what she’s got on ALL of us and that’s why none of us can beat her. You have to pick and choose your battles in life, Jug. And right now...I’m not choosing this one.” He looked back at her house. “Not yet anyway.” He turned and hopped into his newly fixed truck while the rest of the Serpents mounted their motorcycles or climbed into their own vehicles and they drove off.

On the drive home, Jughead anxiously tapped his hand on the passenger side door. Soon, he looked to his father, squinting at him with suspicion. “What’s the dirt she’s got on you?” He wondered.

“That’s none of your business.” FP said calmly, taking his last turn toward Sunnyside Trailer Park. “What’s the dirt she’s got on you?”

“Oh, how is mine YOUR business, but not vice versa?” Jughead asked with attitude.

“Um...because I’m your father and it’s my job to protect you.” They pulled into the driveway to FP’s trailer and both unbuckled their seatbelts. Jughead opened the door, putting a foot out, but FP put a hand on his arm, forcing him to stay in the truck. “I’m serious, Jug. Tell me what she’s got.”

His son sighed. “I honestly don’t know. But I know that she knows Betty and sure, Penny Peabody may not make direct threats, but she sure as hell hints at threatening you. If she even puts a finger on Betty, I’ll-”

“I know, I know.” FP sighed as well, taking his hand off of Juggy’s arm. “We’re gonna put an end to all of this as soon as we can.”

“‘We?’ So that means you’re NOT leaving the Serpents?” Jughead brought his foot back into the truck as he half smiled at his father.

FP closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. “If that’s what it takes to keep you safe, then no...I’m not leaving the Serpents.” He noticed his son’s eyes lighting up with excitement and a part of him couldn’t believe what his life had become. Jughead used to hate that his dad was a Serpent...now he practically begged him to stay. “Now, go on and do your homework.” FP pointed at the trailer and Juggy tilted his head to him. “What?” FP chuckled. “Gang members gotta graduate, too. Now...go on.” He pointed once more and Juggy obeyed with a laugh of his own, hopping out of the truck and heading inside.

FP shook his head once more, slowly getting out of the truck as well. He began to follow Juggy in when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket again. With a roll of his eyes, he took it out and saw that he had several missed calls and texts from Alice. Without even bothering to read the messages, he dialed her number and put the phone up to his ear. “Alice….what the hell is so important that you-” She interrupted on the other end and his mood and tone changed entirely.


	33. Worthlessness

_ *21 Years Ago* _

_ Alice reluctantly headed into her next class period on her first day back at Riverdale High. She walked around with an annoyed, yet worried, expression. She had been gone since the end of March the year before. She always expected her Senior year to be hard, but this one would be harder than she had ever planned. It was kept a secret as to why she left halfway through Junior year save for a few people whom Hal had told and threatened to keep on the down low.  _

_ As far as Alice knew, no one spilled the beans about the pregnancy nor the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. She hoped to keep it that way as soon, her family would no longer be seen as the scum of all of Riverdale. Her mother and father had rather respective jobs now and quite a lot more money than they did on the Southside. The Smiths were already slowly making progress on becoming one of the better families in town. The pressure was now on Alice to keep it that way after graduation.  _

_ Making her way to the next class, she turned to look over her shoulder at two sophomores whom she recognized from the year before, whispering something to each other near their lockers. 'Great!' She thought to herself. 'They must know.' She began to wonder which of Hal's buddies had let it slip.  The two girls noticed Alice looking their way, so they quickly turned and headed to their own classes before she shook it off and stepped into Mr. Taggert's science class.  _

_ As she entered the room, she noticed most of her classmates turning their heads to look at her. Instead of letting it get to her in a negative way, she straightened her posture and confidently headed to her lab seat with a small grin. She sat down on her stool before setting her books down in front of her and she nonchalantly flipped her hair out of her face. Pulling out a pencil, she ignored the occasional glares she received from the other kids.  _

_ Mr. Taggert began to write on the chalkboard and Alice put her pencil in her mouth as she stared off into space. Soon, she pulled the pencil out of her mouth and repeatedly tapped the eraser on the table. Not too long after Mr. Taggert opened his mouth to begin the class, they heard footsteps heading toward the room and looked to see three girls filing in with short breaths. One of them had long, dark brown hair while the other two had fiery red locks. The redhead with curls spoke immediately upon entering. "Sorry we're late, Mr. T." She said, attempting to catch her breath. _

_ "We had an emergency Blue and Gold meeting with Mrs. Lahey." The brunette stumbled for their hall pass in her designer jeans' pocket. She handed it to the teacher the moment she retrieved it. _

_ "Thank you, Miss Bello." Mr. Taggert graciously took the note and read it. "You may take your seats." The three girls immediately changed from obedient students to the popular girls again once they turned and looked at the class. Their sassy smiles grew even more when they fixed their eyes upon Alice Smith. "Oh, um...Penelope. Come here for a second, please?" Mr. T continued, causing the redhead with straighter hair to return to his desk at the front of the class. _

_ Alice's heart stopped when she noticed the excitement in all three of the girls' eyes. She quickly averted her own, though she focused on the other two passing by in her peripheral vision. The taller of the two whispered, though Alice keenly heard her voice. "Nice job forging Lahey's signature, Hermione."  _

_ "Thanks, Mary." The short brunette giggled before they parted ways and headed to their assigned chairs.  _

_ "Uh...Tom?" Mr. T called out to the class.  _

_ "Yeah?" The teen in the seat next to Alice's responded. _

_ "I'm gonna have you working with Sierra for today. Both Alice and Penelope were absent for this assignment, so I'm gonna have them partnered up. Just because they'll be on the same page." The moment Taggert said those words, Alice's face grew warm while her body felt cold. She knew childbirth was painful, but a part of her expected this to be even more painful. _

_ "Okay. Cool." Tom Keller stood immediately, heading over to sit with the only person in Riverdale more flirtatious than he. Sierra smirked at him the second he took his seat as she received a glare from her boyfriend, Myles McCoy, who sat behind her. _

_ Penelope rolled her eyes before heading over to sit beside Alice, whose heart beat even faster now, though she tried to hide it.  _

_ Halfway through the class, Mary and Hermione threw a crumpled up paper to Penelope, who picked it up to read it with a laugh causing a paranoid Alice to fear that it was something about her. Finishing up the lab parts for that day, basically all on her own with no help from Penelope, Alice wrote hers and Penelope's name on the top of the paper before handing it to Mr. Taggert. "Ummm...can I go to the library?" She quietly asked him, hoping to get as far away from the three bitch-keteers as possible.  _

_ "I would say yes, Miss Smith, but...the bell's gonna ring really soon. Please just sit and be patient until next period." He returned to grading some papers and she sadly sighed before obeying him.  _

_ "Wait! You're done already?" Hermione leaned across her lab station while she asked Penelope. _

_ "Yeah. I guess. I don't know." Penelope laughed without a care. _

_ "Lucky."  _

_ "How?" Mary wondered from her own station. "I don't get any of this!" _

_ The moment Alice returned to her stool, she heard Mary's remark and she scoffed to herself, knowing how truly smart Mary pretended she was not, though it must've been too loud. "Did you guys hear something?" Penelope wondered, avoiding looking at Alice beside her. _

_ "Nope. Not a thing." Hermione rudely responded. _

_ "I didn't think so." Penelope laughed with the other two. _

_ "Wow."  Alice raised both of her eyebrows with ridicule as she realized just how lamely arrogant they were. _

_ "Oh, wait. That?" Mary began. "Oh, no. That was just little Miss Psych Ward talking to herself again." _

_ "Oooohhhhh." Hermione nodded. _

_ "Sh. Sh....Don't piss her off." Penelope whispered loudly. "We don't want her to have one of her episodes." _

_ Alice slammed her hand down on the table, finally looking at them. "One of my ‘episodes,’ Penelope?" She stood up. _

_ "Oh, shit!" Mary fakely exclaimed. "We've awakened it!" _

_ Hermione and Penelope laughed.  _

_ "What are you bimbos talking about?" Alice put a demanding hand on her hip. _

_ "Oh, come on, bipolar Alice. I MEAN, ‘Alice.’” Penelope started, causing a few other students to laugh as well. _

_ “It’s okay, Alice.” Mary jumped in with a nicer tone. “We all know why you were gone.” _

_ “You were having trouble controlling your mood swings, so your parents sent you away to some hospital in Boston.” Hermione revealed. _

_ “What?!” Alice replied. “That’s ridiculous! That is NOT why I was gone. I was-” She stopped, not wanting to shorten the plank she walked on even more. “I was staying with my grandparents in New York City.” She lied and looked around at the entire class, who listened in now. “There! Now you know the REAL reason I was gone. I was in a writer’s program at N.Y.U. so I stayed with them while I went.” She announced for everyone to hear. “You can all stop gossiping and spreading lies about me now. You know the truth!” She returned her attention to Mary, Penelope, and Hermione. “And you three….I want you out of the Blue and Gold! That’s MY newspaper and I don’t want it printing out articles about how to do your hair or purposefully fail a class for some boy or some stupid shit like that. You got it?” _

_ The bell rang for the end of the period and Alice grabbed her things, leaving instantly, even though Mr. Taggert called after her.  _

_ As she rushed out into the hall, she brushed by people, hitting them in the shoulder or just barely touching them. She made her way to where she was to turn a corner and she bumped right into him. Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Second.  _

_ “Hey, watch-” Alice began to say, but when she noticed who it was, she stopped. _

_ “It’s nice to see you, too.” FP responded with sarcasm. He looked deeper into her eyes while she tried to look away from him. “Hey...hey.” He noticed her tears. “What’s wrong?”  _

_ “Nothing. I just...I gotta go.” She tried to move swiftly passed, but he grabbed her arms, stopping her. “I don’t have time for this, FP!” She angrily shouted in the loud hallway. _

_ “Hey...is this about…” He looked around before moving his face closer to hers so only she would hear him. “...the baby?” _

_ Her eyes widened right away. “You know about that?” She internally panicked. _

_ FP looked around again and took her by the hand, leading her to the door to the auditorium, where they made their way backstage. “Hello?!” He called out, hearing his voice echo. No one answered in the dark place and he turned on the lights, confirming that they were, in fact, alone. He turned back to her. “I heard you two arguing the night of prom.” He saw the horror in her eyes after his confession. “Don’t worry. Don’t worry. I haven’t told a soul.” _

_ Young Alice bit her lower lip as she refused to look into her ex’s eyes. “Thanks, FP.” _

_ “No problem.” He looked her up and down, noticing the slight change in her figure. “So...you gave it up for adoption, huh?” He assumed Hal wouldn’t let her keep the baby, since prom night he definitely heard him mention abortion.   _

_ “We need to get to class, FP.” Alice tried to step toward the door, but he stopped her. _

_ “No, no. Wait. I...I missed you while you were gone.” He confessed. There was a moment of silence as he got nothing from her. Looking into her eyes he could tell that she had loads of other things on her mind and he had no doubt in his mind that she was a changed person after those long nine months away. “What are you upset about?” He finally asked. _

_ “‘What am I upset about?’” She repeated. “‘What am I upset about?’” She couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m far passed upset by now, FP.” She shook her head. “I grew up with little to no money on the Southside. I never had any real friends until you. Then you went and joined a gang. And stupid me was in love with you, so I went and joined them too. Then my life began to spiral even more from there. You betrayed me with that shitty version of a new Serpent Gauntlet. I begged my parents to move to the Northside finally to get away from you and I came here only to meet a somewhat okay version of a boyfriend. Everyday I get bullied by those three….whatever they are. And then to top that all off, I got pregnant and had to give away the only thing that could’ve possibly made me somewhat happy? Then...to make things even worse...you had to go and transfer here so I can see your face everyday, reminding me of all of that and where it stemmed from! ‘What am I upset about?’ I don’t know. YOU tell me.”  _

_ “Alice.” FP began with a sorrowful voice. _

_ “I don’t even know which I’d rather deal with….seeing you or being ridiculed and mocked everyday by Mary and her two marionettes. You know….I complained a lot about Southside High, but at least no one bothered me there. I was invisible. I’d choose that anyday over having to feel the way they make me feel everyday I go home from school. I want invisibility. Not worthlessness.”  _

_ “You’re not worthless, Alice.” He said with a gentle tone. _

_ “I have to go.” She turned and left him all alone backstage.  _

_ Later on that day after school, FP waited outside the girls’ locker room. He leaned against the wall with his hands in his jeans’ pockets and he stared at the door. The halls began to empty as kids boarded buses to head home. The only ones who stayed were the music kids, the theatre kids, or the sports kids. Occasionally the snooty teens would stay after longer to fix their makeup for after school dates or to help themselves become even bigger teacher’s pets and it, sadly, worked. _

_ The moment the door to the girls’ locker room opened, FP approached the three teens who exited while giggling. “Ladies, ladies. Can I speak to you for a moment?” He tried to ask politely.  _

_ “Uh….no.” Mary said with attitude. _

_ “Get lost, Southside scum.” Penelope hissed. _

_ “I just need to ask you something. It’s really important.” He looked around the hall, seeing that they were the only four left in the school. _

_ “What do you want?” Hermione sighed with an eye roll. “And make it quick, I’m supposed to be meeting Hiram right now.” _

_ “Hermione, we don’t need to hear ANYTHING this Southside trash needs to say.” Mary reiterated.  _

_ “Right.” Penelope sneered.  _

_ FP reached into his pocket, pulling out his pocket knife and he pushed Mary against the wall, holding the knife in her face. “Call me Southside scum one more time.” He warned and she tightly shut her lips while Hermione and Penelope grabbed hands, watching with fear. “Now that I’ve got your attention….you’re gonna listen to me.” He waited as Mary slowly nodded. “If I hear another word about you three talking shit about Alice TO or BEHIND HER BACK….” He turned to look at Hermione and Penelope. “...you three will have Hell to pay. Do you understand me?” He looked back to Mary. “Now...I don’t like this side of me, so don’t make me bring him out again. Got it? If I so much as hear a certain TONE from any of you following her name...you’ll get to know this FP better and trust me...even I don’t know him too well yet.” All three of them frantically nodded and FP let go of Mary, backing away from her. “And if Fred hears about this little encounter and it ruins my friendship with him, Mary...you’ll be seeing a lot more of him, too.” He pointed to his knife with a smirk as she nodded again. FP frustratedly shook his head before closing his pocket knife and setting it back into his pocket. “You ladies better get going. Hermione’s got a meeting with Hiram.” He winked at them and smiled before leaving the school. _

* * *

 

**_A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry I haven’t posted in a few days. I was trying to get my sleeping schedule back to normal while keeping up with the housework. And on Thursday night I got to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra LIVE for the first time! Which is something I’ve wanted to do since I was like, 8 years old! So, that was amazing!!!!!!!! I’m gonna do my best to keep updating regularly from here on out, because my goal is to finish this fic before the new episode of Riverdale airs, which means I’ve only got a couple weeks to finish this, so I will be hard at work. And that should be easy since my little sisters go back to school soon, so I won’t have to deal with them bothering me so much anymore. Haha I hope you enjoyed this chapter! For some reason I really wanted to see young FP threatening people for being jerks to Alice behind her back, because if she knew about it, she wouldn’t be too happy with him for it. Also, I chose the route that Mary used to be a jerk in high school, but when she and Fred got more serious she grew to be nicer and stopped being friends with Penelope because of how much of a jerk Penelope naturally is. And Hermione maybe tried to get with Fred, so that put her and Mary’s friendship on halt too. Idk. I’m just trying to make this seem more interesting. Haha Let me know down below! MWAH!_ **


	34. The Simplest Thing

*Present Day*

Alice stood in the kitchen after just hanging up the phone. She felt a burning in her nose as tears wanted to fill her eyes, but she frustratedly shook her head and turned to head back into the living room. "I just got off the phone with FP." She spoke upon approaching the sofa. "He's on his way."

"Cool." Chic folded his hands in front of him as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I'm, uh....I'm thinking about setting up a little plate of snacks or something." The anxious mother told them. Her nerves were all over the place for several reasons, the main being that she wasn't sure how she'd feel seeing FP so soon after he blew up at the Register. Doing something, like fixing snacks or walking around the house would get her mind off of it....even if it were just slightly. "Betty, could you keep an eye out for when FP gets here?"

Elizabeth glared up at her mother, but graciously answered anyway. "Sure thing, Mom." She hid the annoyance in her tone so as not to seem so suspicious to Chic.

"And come get me when he does, please."

"Mhm." Betty squinted before Alice raised an eyebrow down at her and headed back to the kitchen.

Alice stood with the refrigerator door open, staring into it for some time before she finally reached in to grab the two bricks of cheese and the green olives in the door. She went over to the pantry to take out the crackers inside and set them down on the island in the center of the kitchen. After grabbing a large platter, she sighed, leaning her hands against the counter before attempting to actually put some effort into her task. She tried to listen in on the conversation between Chic and Betty in the other room as she grabbed the cheese knife from one of the drawers.

"So, did you hear anything from the auto repair shop, yet?" Betty asked as she played with a strand of her hair.

"Not yet. He said he would call me by tomorrow, so I might find out soon." Chic responded, leaning further back onto the couch. "Hey, maybe if you're looking for a little job after school you could come work with me." He suggested.

"That'd be cool. Lord knows I could use some of my own money. Maybe get a little vacation away from Riverdale for awhile."

"Ha! Yeah." He replied, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Betty's eyes widened and she looked over her shoulder into the kitchen to see if Alice was looking. Chic inhaled, blowing out a smoke ring before turning to see the look of shock on his little sister's face. Then he whispered. "You wanna try?" Betty bit her lower lip, knowing Alice would maim her if she ever found out. She looked back into the kitchen once more before shrugging a shoulder and leaning over to take the cigarette from him. She stared down at it for a moment, battling herself before thinking 'screw it' and she placed it in her mouth, taking a small puff. She let out a few small, as quiet as possible, coughs before handing it back to him while her eyes watered. Chic giggled to himself as he took it back and placed it in his mouth again. "So...your mom was really a Southside Serpent?" He finally asked with a grin. "What was that like?" He wondered.

"I don't know. I only just found out myself." Elizabeth coughed once more before clearing her throat and finally getting ahold of herself again. She watched him take a few more puffs of the cigarette before whispering to him. "You better put that out before Alice comes back in here. She'll throw a fit."

Chic tried his best not to laugh, realizing just how much he was beginning to like Betty. "You just called your mom by her first name." He chuckled.

"Go!" Betty demanded, slapping him on the arm before she raised her voice to normal volume again. "You remember where the bathroom is, right?"

"Yeah, back in the hall by the kitchen." Chic said as he stood, picking up on her fake helpful tone to fool Alice in the other room.

"Yeah." Betty stood as well and he rushed passed the kitchen, heading to the bathroom to flush the cigarette down the toilet.

Just when Betty stood, she looked out the window and saw FP's truck pulling into the driveway. She rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen to let her mother know. "Mom. FP's here." She interrupted her mother placing one last piece of cheese perfectly on the platter.

"Oh. Thank you." Alice picked up the platter, turning around ad handing it to her daughter. "Take this out and set it on the coffee table in the living room, please. I need to go out and talk to him before he comes in." Betty sighed, taking the platter from her and doing as she said while she left the house.

When Alice stepped out onto the porch, she heard FP's truck shutting off and she jogged down the stairs to meet him when he got out. She folded her arms across her chest as she felt a chill in the air. "Alice." He said, closing the door.

"FP, I need to talk to you."

"Well, I don't need to talk to you. I just wanna meet my son." He tried to head toward the house, but she put her hand on his chest, stopping him. He looked down at her hand, realizing it was the simplest thing, but it was a thing she used to do all the time when they were teens and he actually missed it. Alice let her hand fall to her side when she noticed him staring at it. "What?" He asked, not too happily.

"I don't want you to overwhelm him in there, okay? This is the first time you're meeting so don't bring up the Serpents or the fact that you were in prison for covering up a murder. None of that. Alright? And don't tell him what happened between us."

"What if he asks?"

"I don't know. Change the subject, something. Just...try not to reveal too much on the first day."

"Alice, something tells me that's not what you came all the way out here to tell me." He placed his hands in his jeans pockets and glared down at her, waiting for her to answer.

She opened her mouth, about to tell him about Hal's plan to divorce, but nothing came out for a moment and she changed her mind. "No." She shook her head. "That's it."

They gazed at each other for a moment before FP scoffed and walked passed her, heading up to the porch.


	35. Chosen

Alice turned to watch FP walk up to her house with a squint of her eyes. She took in a deep breath before touching a hand to her forehead before following after him. She caught up when he stopped just in front of the door, waiting for her to allow him to enter. Alice opened it and FP offered to let her in first, but she stayed behind and he sighed, stepping inside.

Mrs. Cooper closed the door behind her and what she witnessed caused her heart to jump. Chic turned the corner from the hall near the bathroom as he stepped out and turned to see FP for the first time. Alice and Betty stood by, watching them as they looked at each other for a moment with awe-struck eyes. It was him. They both knew it. They both felt it. Joy took over both of them and they rushed to each other for a long awaited hug. Alice felt her soul whirling inside as she had never seen anything like it. That hole in her heart was slowly filling in again and she began to feel light headed as she couldn't help but smile near the front door.

FP pat Chic on the back several times before they finally broke the hug and smiled at each other with a handshake. "Chic." He said with a grin.

The twenty-two year old let out a small breath of air. "Dad." It flowed right off his tongue with little effort.

"It's good to see you, my boy." FP said, still holding Chic's hand after shaking it. "It's GREAT to see you." He corrected, hugging Chic once more. "Listen..." He pulled out of the hug, leaning down a bit to stare into Chic's eyes with pained ones. "...I'm so sorry about everything. About not being there. If I had known, things would've been different. Better. I would've chosen to keep you in my life."

Chic nodded, tearing up himself. "It's okay." He weakly smiled when FP put a hand on his cheek. "I understand." He whispered before they hugged once more. "You're here now." They pat each other on the back again.

Alice forced her tears of contentment to disappear and she stepped into the living room, pointing to the platter on the coffee table. "I put out some snacks for you two." She choked out. "Betty and I will give you some time alone." She sniffled, walking passed her son and his father, taking Betty by the hand and leading her into the kitchen.

"Does Dad know about this little meeting?" Elizabeth whispered when they were just out of ear shot. She stopped at the kitchen table, putting her hands on the back of one of the chairs.

"Your father doesn't want to speak to me right now." Alice answered as she went over to the sink, starting to work on the dishes.

"And why not?" Betty interrogated.

"Because we had a little fight. Okay, Betty?" Her mother responded, rolling up her sleeves.

"A 'little' fight or a big one?" The teen looked over her shoulder at FP and Chic taking their seats in the living room. "Was it about this little meeting?" She assumed before stopping and recalling yesterday. "Or FP?"

"What about FP, Betty?" Mrs. Cooper kept her back to her daughter.

"You two.....In the trailer.....Yesterday?" Elizabeth continued.

Her consistency caused her mother to drop a plate in the side of the sink filled with water and she slightly turned to look at Betty. "You know what...in the short version, yes, our fight was about FP and I in the trailer."

"You told him?" Betty crossed her arms over her chest.

"No, Elizabeth. FP told him. Alright? And that's all you need to know." She shook her head and continued to do the dishes.

Betty walked around the table to get closer to her mother so they could speak more without fearing the other two hearing them. "And this is why Dad fired you?" She assumed again.

Alice fought the urge to look her daughter in the eye so close beside her. "Something like that."

"And whatever happened to you keeping FP a secret from Chic?"

Alice dropped another dish in the water before turning her head a bit. "Well, that plan kind of foiled because SOMEONE told FP the truth about Chic visiting us. And I have no idea who....Hm. Was it you, Betty Cooper?" Alice made her own assumption.

"What? No! I don't even wanna talk to that man. Let alone tell him YOUR dirty secrets. He must've found out someho-" She paused before mumbling to herself. "Jughead." She sighed as she briefly closed her eyes.

Alice sighed as well as she understood what Betty just realized. "You see?" She said as she continued to wash the dish she had just dropped. "This is why you shouldn't tell your boyfriend everything."

"Oh, really, Mom? You're gonna judge me on my teen love life drama?" She moved in closer to her mother. "What about yours? The biggest mishaps from yours are right there in that living room and they're both eating off of our cheese platter."

"You know what, Elizabeth. You're right. But you better watch that tone with me or you're gonna end up with another slap in the face. And this time, I will not apologize for it." She hurried up with the dishes as Betty backed away and angrily shook her head, running up to her bedroom.

After finishing the dishes, Alice dried her hands and leaned her back against the counter, putting her head in her hands as she felt the weight of a thousand problems started twenty years ago finally catching up to her. She rubbed the side of her temples, closing her eyes and picturing her life a bit differently.

Out in the living room, she accidentally overheard some of the conversation. "So..." Came from Chic's voice. "Mrs. Cooper told me you used to be a Southside Serpent."

"Did she?" FP replied. "Did she tell you that she was, too?"

"Yeah. But Betty said she left for some unknown reason. Any chance you'd know what that reason was?"

In the kitchen, Alice closed her eyes, shaking her head at FP for not averting this topic and for further exploring it.

"There's a few reasons why." FP responded as he grabbed a few slices of cheese.

"And what about you? Why did you leave? Weren't you the leader at some point?" Chic wondered.

"I, uh..." His dad hesitated. "I still am."

"Still am what? Their leader?" Chic watched as FP nodded. "How? If you're not a Serpent anymore, then-?

"I didn't leave them." Forsythe finally admitted.

Alice's eyes teared up in the other room and she couldn't stop herself from walking out into the living room to interrupt. "I'm sorry. Um...FP? Can I see you for a minute?"

FP and Chic looked behind them at the woman standing near the hallway by the kitchen. "No." He answered.

"Please?" She gave him a look that caused him to sigh and stand, following her into the hallway where they stood near the bathroom door.

"What?" He asked in a whisper, already anxious to go back to Chic.

"You're still a Serpent?" She asked with her arms folded over her chest in disappointment. "What happened to trying to get your life together?" She whispered.

"Well...it turns out I can't exactly do that at the moment." He tried to walk back, but she grabbed his arm, pulling him back and closer to her.

"And why not?" She looked up into his brown eyes, trying her best not to get lost in them.

"Since when do you control me, Alice? I don't have to run things by you. You're the one who didn't want me. Remember?"

He started for the living room again, but once Alice spoke, he stopped with a roll of his eyes. "That's not what I mean. I just....I just want things to work out for you." She looked down at his lips before looking back up into his eyes. "Don't forget...I did tell you that I still love you."

He rolled his eyes again. "Yeah....How could I forget?" He stopped when they heard Betty coming down the stairs. They each turned their heads to see if anyone was coming as Betty's voice grew louder when she stepped into the living room, asking Chic if he wanted a drink. FP looked back to Alice to continue. "How could I forget that you chose Hal over me anyway?"

He turned to leave again and Alice squeezed his arm tighter, stepping into him so their chests almost made contact. "I'm choosing you." She said with panic in her tone.

"What?" He looked down at her with confusion.

Alice gazed down at his lips once more before slowly mumbling just loud enough for him to hear. "I choose...you." She brought her other hand up to hold his other arm as she leaned up, slowly bringing her lips centimeters from his. "Hal and I are getting divorced." She quietly whispered, slightly parting her lips to touch his.

Just as the skin of their lips brushed against one another's, they heard the front door open and Hal and Polly stepped in with two crying babies as both Alice and FP sighed, moving away from each other.


	36. Pandemonium

Alice took in a deep breath, looking up at FP before she turned and headed out to the living room, leaving him back by the bathroom. "Awwwww..." She exclaimed, approaching Hal with one of the twins. "Let me take him." She sweetly said when Hal handed her the baby in his arms. "My sweet, sweet Jason." She smiled down at her grandson, slightly bouncing him up and down. "Sh, sh, sh! It's okay." She whispered. "It's okay." She played with his pacifier in his mouth until he finally stopped crying and reached a hand up to touch his grandmother's face. Alice took hold of his hand and kissed it before finally looking up and around the room. She looked toward the hall and saw FP slowly returning to the living room. They made uncomfortable eye contact until FP looked back over to Chic.

"FP." Hal said with frustration in his tone, though he wasn't exactly that surprised to see him there.

"Hal." Mr. Jones nodded once to the man and walked over to his son.

Polly walked over to Betty with Gemini in her arms and she whispered to her little sister. "What is he doing here?" She searched around the room for another guest, though she did not see one. "Is Jughead here?"

"Nope." Betty said with a care free attitude all of a sudden. "We broke up." She said loud enough for the rest of the room to hear. Her tone shown how apathetic she was becoming as she couldn't take being depressed all the time anymore. She decided not to care from now on.

"You did?" Polly asked right away.

"Yupp." Betty nodded, pinching her lips together. "We're done."

"Smart choice, Betty." Hal said before receiving a glare from his soon-to-be ex wife.

"Thanks, Dad." Elizabeth sent him an annoyed smile before turning and heading toward the kitchen. Polly followed her.

"Well...." Chic began, looking at all three other adults. "This is a little awkward." He said with a laugh, finding the drama quite amusing actually.

"Hey, Chic." FP said, putting his arm around him. "What do you say we go to Pop's and get something to eat?"

"Wait, you-" Alice started, but then she stopped, looking over at Hal.

"No, no. That's fine, Alice. Go ahead." He pointed to FP and Chic. "Invite them to stay for dinner. I don't care."

"We really don't want to impose." Chic responded, starting to feel a bit awkward but also loving it.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Polly stood beside the table where Betty sat with her head in her hands. "Hey. Why is FP here if you and Jughead are over?" She asked, rocking Gemini.

"He came over for Mom." Betty sighed with her face still in her hands.

"Mom? Why?" Polly asked, looking into the living room at the other four.

"Why don't you ask her?" Betty said in a monotonous tone. "I'm tired."

"Hey...Mom?" Polly headed back to the family room. "Can I talk to you for a sec? In here?"

Alice looked at all three men before biting her lip and following Polly back into the kitchen. "What is it, sweetie?"

"Why is FP here?" Poll whispered.

"He...just came over to visit. But I invited him and Chic to dinner." Alice and Polly both looked to Betty as she dramatically groaned, leaning over and resting her forehead on the table. "Betty, honey? Could you please take Jason, so I can get dinner started?" Alice squinted at Elizabeth when she finally looked back up.

"Fine." Betty stood and walked over to her mother, taking the baby from her. "But only because I love my nephew."

"Understood." Her mother grumbled with the same attitude. "I'll get their bottles ready, too." She said nicely to Poll, heading over to the stove.

"Thanks, Mom." Her oldest daughter weakly smiled, aware that something was suspicious.

Soon after Alice began the cooking, Hal went upstairs to his room to get away from everyone. Polly and Betty fed the babies and FP and Chic sat in the living room, continuing their conversations from earlier. Eventually, there was a knock on the door and Alice left the kitchen to answer. When she opened the door, she couldn't help but loosen her posture as her face dropped a bit. On the porch stood that one person whom she couldn't help but judge at the moment, knowing he broke her little girl's heart. Like father like son.

"Well, well, well..." She began, holding the door open with one hand. "Jughead Jones." She squinted at him.

"My dad called and told me to come over for dinner." The 16 year old readjusted the hat on his head.

"Yes, of course. Come on in." Mrs. Cooper spoke graciously, though her physical demeanor said otherwise.

After Betty's ex walked in, she closed the door and turned to see FP stand up from the couch, heading over to Jughead. "Hey, son." He gave Jug a small hug and turned to the other. "This is Chic."

Chic stood and offered his hand out to Jughead. "Hey, man."

"Hey. Nice to meet you." Juggy quickly shook Chic's hand before his eyes met Betty's at the kitchen table. "Excuse me." He left the living room before FP could protest and he entered the kitchen, followed by Alice.

"Betty, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked. Alice kept looking back at them as her cooking gradually came to a conclusion.

"No." Betty responded, finishing feeding Jason.

"Please? I really have to say something to you....in private."

"Well, I have nothing to say to you. Okay? You want Toni? You can have her now. I'm done....and I'm done caring." She returned her attention to the baby in her arms.

"Toni? This has nothing to do with Toni...." He looked around the room, almost catching Alice eavesdropping. "Toni has a girlfriend, Betty."

"Oh, good. Good for her." Betty genuinely smiled up at him. "But you no longer do." Jason had begun to fall asleep in her arms, so she stood with him and Polly stood with Gemini.

"Dinner's ready." Alice finally broke the awkward silence, cringing at the situation. She looked to Polly and Betty who were heading toward the stairs to put the babies down for bed. "Girls, while you're up there, could you please let your father know that the food is done?"

"Yes, ma'am." Both Betty and Polly said and Alice couldn't help but smile at their shocking return of manners.

Everyone gathered at the table while Alice and Betty finished setting out the dishes and silverware. At one point, Hal asked Alice if they could go somewhere and talk in private, but she refused and took her seat at the head of the table.

"So...Chic, I overheard you and Betty talking earlier." Alice began once they began to eat. "You still haven't heard about that job at the auto shop yet?"

"No. Not yet." Chic responded. "Dave said that he should be calling tomorrow. So, we'll see."

"Dave...as in Dave Habermann on the Southside?" FP asked before taking a sip of wine.

"Yeah." Chic answered.

"I know the guy. I could put in a good word for you. He's an old buddy." Mr. Jones smiled, setting down his glass.

"Oh yeah? Thanks."

"That's nice, FP." Alice added with a flippant tone.

"Polly..." FP began when the table was uncomfortably silent again. "It's good to see you. I feel like the last time I did was when you were like, what? Ten? You probably don't remember."

"I do a little bit." The new mother answered.

"I can't believe you have babies now." He shook his head, picking up some vegetables on his fork. "Man, kids grow up so fast. I swear it was just last week I couldn't get Jughead to go to grade school and now look at him...Can't get enough of school or writing." Everyone let out an awkward chuckle. "You keep an eye on those twins, Polly. Pretty soon, YOU'LL be the one surrounding your dinner table with your old high school classmates, saying the exact same thing."

"Yeah." Polly took a sip of her water. "I just wish Jason were here."

"Who's Jason again?" Chic wondered. "That kid they found down at Sweetwater River, right?"

"Yeah." Jughead quietly responded. "He's also the babies' father."

"I have no doubt in my mind that he's up in that room right now, watching over the babies, Polly." Betty tried to comfort her sister.

"I'm sorry." Chic gently smiled to Alice's second born and Polly weakly smiled back.

They ate in silence for the rest of the meal. When they were done, Alice stood to bring the dishes over to the sink. "No, no. Alice, you sit." FP started. "You've been doing everything tonight. Let the kids take care of the dishes."

"I think that's a great idea." Hal jumped in with a bit of sass in his tone, feeling a bit as if FP were trying to show him up as the better man.

"I've got it." Betty stood, grabbing her own plate and Polly's next to her.

"I'll help." Jughead stood immediately, following with his and Chic's plates.

"I'm gonna go up and check on the babies real quick." Polly said, leaving the table.

"Well...dinner was delicious, Alice." FP said, taking another sip of his wine.

"Yes, it was. Thank you, Mrs. Cooper." Chic grinned at her and her heart melted.

"So how's work over at Fred's going?" Hal asked FP as if he already knew the answer.

"Oh, umm...." FP sat up in his chair, clearing his throat. "I don't know...I haven't been back since-" He looked to Chic, then to Alice who glared at Hal, then back to Chic. He remembered Alice not wanting him to mention his stint in prison around their son.

"Since Fred finished the SoDale project. Right, FP?" Alice interrupted with an unseen wink.

"Right." Mr. Jones oddly replied while Hal squinted at him, knowing that was a lie. "Once Fred has some new projects, he'll call me." The air grew cold for a moment as he felt Hal's eyes on him. "What about you, Hal?" FP added. "How's work going for you? Anymore people's lives you've ruined or secrets you haven't told in the paper yet?"

"Actually..." Hal began, turning his attention to the woman across the table from him. "I had to fire my best employee today."

Polly returned and took her seat at the table once again. "They're still sleeping." She said with a sigh of relief, setting the baby monitor on the table in front of her.

Jughead and Betty finished clearing the table and they returned to their seats as well, continuing to send each other conversational eyes. Polly noticed and she fought the urge to ask Betty what exactly happened between the two of them. Someone else brought it up instead.

"Are you okay?" Chic wondered, looking to Elizabeth.

"What?" His baby sister asked.

"Are you alright?" He repeated. "You two seem...poignant."

"Oh, no. We're fine." Betty replied almost too fast.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, well...YOU might be fine." Jughead said with an attitude as he took a sip of his orange juice. "Some of us other people have feelings." He leaned back in his chair, putting an arm on the back of Chic's chair beside him as he stared Betty down across from him.

"Excuse me." Betty began. "'I don't have feelings?'" She ridiculously repeated him.

"Well, not at the moment." Juggy slightly tilted his head to the side as he glared at her.

"Alright." Alice propped her elbows up on the table in front of her as she folded her hands in front of her face.

"Okay, Jughead. You better watch it, boy." FP warned his son. "Don't say anything you'll regret."

"No. No. I'm done. I've got nothing else to say to her." The younger Jones boy sent Betty pained eyes before looking away from her.

"Um..." Alice looked down into her lap for a moment before she cleared her throat, looking up to all of them again. "Since we're all here, I decided now would be a good time to tell you-"

"Alice." Hal tried to stop her. "Wait."

"Hal and I have some news."

"Said the news reporter." FP chuckled.

"EX news reporter." Hal corrected. "And no...we don't."

"I'm so confused. What's going on?" Polly asked with anxiety.

"Why not just tell them now, Hal?" Mrs. Cooper rested her chin on top of her folded hands.

"Because maybe I changed my mind." Hal sent his wife wider eyes and she retracted her head, dropping her arms down from the table with surprise.

"Changed your mind about what?" Polly looked back and forth between her parents on opposite sides of the table.

"There's nothing wrong with changing your mind." Jughead chimed in, looking at Betty. "Well...not if it isn't ideal to Betty."

"Hal and I are-"

"You told me you weren't gonna join the Serpents!" Betty leaned forward, finally speaking up and at her ex across the table.

"And like I said..." Juggy leaned forward as well. "I changed my mind. You didn't have to break up with me just for that."

"Wait, what?" Chic leaned in as well.

"Wait a second." Polly said, now getting why Betty was so weird tonight. "He joined the Serpents?!"

"Really?" Her little sister ignored her. "Because my mom thought breaking up with FP for becoming a Serpent was the best thing that could've happened to her as a kid." Betty pointed out.

"You two dated?" Chic asked Jughead and Betty.

"Elizabeth!" Alice jumped in. "I never said that." She reluctantly looked to FP who put a hand to his forehead.

"Sounds like something you'd lie about." Hal said to Alice.

"Hal...This isn't the time."

"Oh, but you think it's the time to tell them about the divorce?!" He raised his voice causing the whole room to fall silent as everyone panned it with their overwhelmed eyes.

"What?" Polly was the first to break the silence.

"Divorce?" Betty teared up.

Alice let out a long, hard sigh as she put her face in her hands, not wanting it to come out so abruptly. The silence in the room hurt almost every one of them.


	37. What's Best

"Wait a minute." Polly said, staring down at the table in front of her.

Betty leaned far back in her chair as her hands formed into fists in her lap under the table, digging into her palms as usual. "You're really thinking about divorce?" She looked back and forth between her parents.

Alice's face had grown quite red and she finally lifted her head from her hands, looking up to Hal across from her. He sighed and closed his eyes before answering. "It IS something we talked about. Yes. But it's not set and stone."

"Well, then. Don't do it." Polly frantically added. "If it's not set and stone, you can work things out. Right?" She looked to her mother who held no readable expression. "Right?" When no one answered, she instantly pushed her chair back, running up the stairs.

"Wait." Alice cried. "Polly, sweetie." She stood, running up after her.

Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to run herself. Though she wanted to run out the front door. She knew this was coming soon. She just knew it. If only there weren't so many secrets around them. They would've figured it out sooner. Maybe she would've been able to stop it. As much as she wanted to run and as far as she wanted to go, she froze. Her body sat limp in her chair as she stared off into space.

"I think...maybe we should go." FP pushed his chair back but Hal put his hand on the table in front of FP to stop him.

"No. You know what?" Mr. Cooper sighed. "Just stay. I'll be right back." He walked around the table to Betty's side, looking down at her, waiting for her to say something. Instead, she just continued to stare at the wall. Hal slowly bent over, kissing his youngest on the top of her head before running up the stairs after the other two Cooper women.

"Polly?" Alice said as she sadly knocked on the door to her older daughter's bedroom. She remembered that the babies were asleep inside, so she knocked as gently as possible. "Baby girl, please let me in." She sniffled out in the hall, wiping away a tear or two.

"Alice." Hal said as he approached her.

She rolled her eyes upon his arrival and sorrowfully looked away. "Hal...why did you go and blurt it out like that?" She whispered.

"I don't know. I guess I just..." He thought of how sad Polly and Betty were the moment they heard and it broke his heart. He lowered his voice even more, standing outside Polly's door. "I guess I get a little jealous when FP is around and...it made me anxious. I'm sorry." He looked to the closed door. "There's no taking it back now."

Alice crossed her arms, leaning against the wall by the door. "Is it true what you said down there? That you changed your mind?"

Hal placed his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall on his side of the door facing her. "I...I really do love you, Alice. But...lately things have been kinda shaky. Maybe it IS time that we let things go and stopped fighting to make things work rather than having them work out naturally." He looked down at the floor. "We shouldn't be forcing it."

"So that means no?" Alice leaned her head against the wall. "You do still want the divorce?"

Hal never answered, but he didn't have to. Alice sighed and gently knocked on Polly's door once more. "Polly, hun?" Hal spoke through the door. "Can we come in, please?"

Mr. and Mrs. Cooper waited a few more seconds and finally, the door was opened. Polly looked at them for only a moment before turning and heading back to the crib. She sadly smiled down at Jason and Gemini, kissing her hand and touching each of their foreheads with it. Hal and Alice walked up behind her, looking in on the infants with delight.

Alice looked at Polly to her right and she reached up, pushing a stray strand of straight, blonde hair out of Polly's face. "No matter what happens, Poll. Your father and I still love you and Betty very very much. And we'll always love Jason and Gemini just the same. You know that." She held onto Polly's arm beside her before looking to Hal to say something.

The other reporter moved closer on the other side of Polly, putting an arm around her back. "Your mother and I have been very stressed lately and we haven't been able to see eye to eye on a lot of things for a very long time. We don't want the babies growing up in a house with that much stress and fighting. They don't need that. You and Betty don't need that."

The 17 year old was silent for a while and it caused Alice to move in a bit closer to her. She put her forehead to the side of Polly's temple with closed eyes before her voice cracked as she spoke. "Listen, I know that losing Jason hurt you so bad, baby girl. But you are not gonna lose us. Alright? EITHER of us. We are both still here and we always will be." She pulled her head away and let her tears fall as she continued. "You've always been so strong and resilient. Though we know you will try, we're not asking you to be. It's okay to let go."

Polly knew exactly what her mother meant and she stopped holding back her tears and she let them fall. She abruptly turned, nuzzling her face into her mother's shoulder as Alice held her and Hal softly rubbed her back.

After a while and when Polly finally finished crying, they left her in the room with the babies for a bit while they headed back downstairs.

"Yeah and then Jellybean said-" Just before FP could finish his, apparently funny, family story, he and his sons all noticed Hal and Alice's return.

"She's okay." Alice spoke as she made her way back into the kitchen. "She just needs a minute."

They all turned their attention to Elizabeth across from the table, still staring off into the abyss. Alice looked to Hal directly behind her and they both stepped around to be near her. Alice knelt down beside her, taking her hand in hers and looking up at her with remorse. Hal stood on the other side of her, looking down at the both of them with a hand on Betty's shoulder. "Betty." He said, hoping to snap her out of her daze.

"Sweetheart, we are so so sorry that we let you down." Alice choked out. "We're only trying to do what's best for you and Polly and the babies." She looked down at her daughter's limp hand in her own. "Your father and I were just telling Polly that we don't want you four to be around us fighting all the time or just being hostile toward one another in general. It's not good for you." It was silent for a moment and Alice reached up, touching Betty's chin with her free hand, turning it. "Betty, look at me, sweetie." Alice's voice slightly squeaked, but she was successful and her youngest finally looked down at her with tearful eyes. "It's all gonna be alright. Okay? We promise. Your father and I still love each other very much and we're still gonna be great friends. We just...wanna make sure we're not hurting each other anymore. That's all."

"We love you, Betty." Hal patted her shoulder.

"Can you forgive us?" Alice kissed the back of Betty's hand. "Can you forgive me?"

Finally, Betty blinked for the first time in what seemed like forever and the tears fell down her cheeks. She nodded, looking down at her mother's hand squeezing hers in her lap. "I just don't want Polly and I to be apart." She finally admitted. "Or have to choose sides."

"Oh, sweetie. We won't make you choose sides." Alice stood up, but only enough to be at eye level with Elizabeth as she pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Nor will you two be apart." Hal added. "Wherever one of you goes, so does the other." He smiled at Alice when she broke the hug with Betty, allowing Hal to hug her.

"Are you okay?" Jughead said with a hint of guilt in his tone for being so nasty to her earlier. Betty pulled out of the hug with her dad, wiping away her tears and looking back to her ex with a nod. "I'm sorry about what I said." He found it hard to maintain eye contact with her. "About you not having feelings. That was a dick move."

"Ah! Language." FP said from the other side of Chic.

"Sorry, but it's true. I was a huge one." He gave Betty his little smirk, waiting for her to smile.

Betty giggled and wiped away another tear. "Yes, you were." She sniffled. "And I forgive you...for what you said, not for joining the Serpents." She made well known.

Jug's large smile shrunk down to a small grin and he nodded. "Understood."

"And, um...Jug, there's something I've been meaning to tell you all night, but I never really got the chance." FP turned in his chair to face Jughead while Chic sat between them. He waited until he had Jughead's full attention before he spoke, looking up at Alice every now and then. "Jughead...Chic is not just Betty and Polly's brother." He saw his younger son's eyebrows furrow with confusion. "He's...my son." His eyes met Alice's once more. "YOUR brother."

Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third beamed with laughter. "Wait a minute." He continued to laugh. "That's not-" He stopped, realizing no one else laughed.

"I always wanted a little bro." Chic awkwardly said between them.

First, Juggy stared at Chic, then he looked to FP whose eyes befell upon Alice once more. Jughead turned to look at Alice as well and he did the math in his head. The prison visits, the odd behavior between the two of them every time they were in a room together. Alice's constant need to try and break him and Betty up. Betty's sudden aversion to him. It all made sense. They had the same half brother. Her mom and his dad. Chic was...Chic was his brother.

He folded his hands together, leaning his elbows on the table in front of him and putting his mouth to his fists. "So my life has been nothing but a lie?" He mumbled through his hands.

"No, Jug. I only just found out about Chic myself. Hal and Alice never told me he was mine."

"It's true, Jughead." Alice jumped in. "Your father and I dated back in high school and we-" She stopped when Jug put a hand up to stop her from speaking.

"I don't wanna hear the details right now, Mrs. Cooper. I just..." He stood from his chair. "I just need some time to think." He gave Betty one last sad look and she returned it before he turned and left the house, getting on his motorcycle and driving off.

At the table, FP sighed, closing his eyes before standing as well. "I better go after him." He said, putting a hand on Chic's back in the chair next to his. "I'm sorry we couldn't talk more, bud."

"That's fine." The twenty two year old waved off. "We can meet up some other time."

"I'm so happy we finally met." Mr. Jones admitted.

"Me too." Chic stood, giving him a hug before FP headed for the door. "Bye, Dad." He grinned.

"See ya later." FP turned to walk out of the house, closing the door behind him, but Alice quickly ran after him.

"Wait." She said as she approached him. "Can we talk some time? About us?"

FP rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "I don't have time to think about that right now, Alice. Go tend to your kids while I tend to mine."

And with that, she watched him leave.

* * *

 

_**A/N: Oh no, guys! Guess what! We're almost done with this fanfic. I'm so sad. But I really hope you all like where I go with this. I've had the ending planned out for weeks. I'm so excited for you to read it. I'd say we're probably down to the last 2-3 chapters. MAYBE 4. It depends on how long I make them. Please, please, please keep sending me comments and suggestions. I love to hear what you guys thinks. Again. Thanks so much for reading. MWAH!** _


	38. The Real Couple From Hell

*Two Months Later*

The sound of cars driving by collided with the sound of the gusts of morning wind brushing passed the bedroom window. Alice slowly opened her eyes with a tired sigh. She rolled over onto her back to stare up at the ceiling, unmotivated to get up. She took in a deep breath before rubbing one of her eyes with a yawn. Her head turned to look at the clock on the nightstand beside her and she forced herself to slowly sit up. After she stretched, she put both hands in her disheveled hair, running her fingers through it. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them, looking out the window with a small grin. Soon after, her smile grew as she felt two hands on her back followed by a kiss on her bare shoulder. She turned to look at FP beside her. "Good morning." He mumbled with a low, groggy voice.

"Mmmmm...morning." She said in a relaxed tone with her eyes closed.

"I could wake up like this forever." FP admitted, kissing her shoulder again.

"God, I missed you." She couldn't help but whisper, leaning into him as he wrapped his arms around her.

FP kissed her on the forehead as he held her tightly to him. "Marry me, Alice." She pulled out of his grip to look him in the eye. "Once the divorce is final. Marry me."

"FP..." She looked down at the space on the bed between them. "I would love to, but we've talked about this." She played with the sheet wrapped around her naked torso. "You're still a Serpent. And I know that you're trying your best to stay sober, but I'm not sure now is the best time."

"Come on, I haven't had a drink in months. And once this whole Penny Peabody thing blows over, I'm all yours." He played with her little hand in his. "I've wanted to marry you since we were 14."

Alice felt those familiar butterflies in her stomach again and she couldn't hold back her smile. "Well...I've wanted to marry you since we were 12." She giggled.

"Is that a yes?" FP chuckled.

Alice closed her eyes with a sigh and she slightly tilted her head. "I guess so." She pretended to sound annoyed, though she moved in closer to him for a light kiss. "Yes, FP." She looked deeply into his big brown eyes. "I will marry you."

FP beamed before he kissed her again. "Finally." He whispered and she gave his arm a small slap as they continued to kiss.

He laid back down on the pillow as Alice hovered over him. She slowly moved one leg to the other side of his hip so she straddled him. FP put a hand on the back of her head above him, letting it get caught in her golden hair. Her hands slyly slithered along his chest, causing goosebumps to rise on his smooth skin. His eyes closed when she broke the kiss to slowly slide her tongue down his shoulder.

One of her hands found its way down between them to drive him crazy and she smiled when he moaned. After he grew, she moved back up to kiss him again before mounting him with confidence, causing herself to moan along with him as her head lulled back and she closed her eyes.

Later on that day, FP left for the Whyte Wyrm for a Serpent meeting on how to stop Penny Peabody. Alice took her car to Pop's, where she now worked as a waitress. She started to feel like she had time traveled. It was just like high school. FP was a Serpent and she was waitressing at Riverdale's best diner. She couldn't believe it. And now...they were engaged. She chuckled, knowing that somewhere her junior high self was throwing a party for she had won her Prince Charming. Her badass Prince Charming.

When she got to work, she was surprised to see all three of her kids there with Hal, sitting at one of the tables she waited on. "Hey, guys." She said with her pen and pad in her hand.

"Hey, Mom." Polly replied from the booth next to Chic.

"Hi, Hal." She awkwardly pushed a piece of her hair out of her face.

"Hello, Alice." He responded.

"Did I leave one of my school books at FP's last weekend?" Betty wondered.

"Was it for Integrated Algebra?" Alice asked with a grin.

"I'll take that as a yes." Elizabeth replied, looking at Chic across from her.

"Am I getting your regulars?" Her mother began writing on the pad.

"Yes, please." Polly responded.

When Alice finished writing, she looked to Hal. "How are things at the Register?"

"I'm not gonna lie, Alice. It's not the same." He folded his hands on the table. "Like I said, once the divorce is finalized, you're welcome to have your job back."

"I know." She set the pen and pad in the little pouch in her apron. "I don't know if I'll have time anymore." She admitted. "I'm finally working on that book I started back in college. It's been taking up a lot of my spare time."

"Oh." Hal nodded. "Good for you." He genuinely smiled.

"I'll, uh....get that order in for you guys." She pivoted to leave, but before she did she asked, "Will I see you kids at FP's later on tonight?"

"Yes, ma'am." Chic responded while Betty and Polly nodded. Alice smiled and returned to the kitchen.

After work, Alice stumbled into her car, feeling the pain in her feet radiate throughout her entire body. Her sore muscles reminded her that she had not, in fact, time traveled to the past when her younger self worked all day without a problem. She sat in the driver's seat for a while with her eyes closed as she rested her head on the back of the seat, relaxing for a moment. She sighed when her cell phone rang.

"Hey, babe." She said as she answered the phone.

"Hey, are you home yet?" FP asked on the other end.

"No. Why?" She put her seat belt on. "I'm just leaving work right now." She put the key in the ignition, waiting for him to answer. FP sighed on the other end and Alice sensed something was off. "FP, what is it?"

"It's Penny." He sounded frustrated and worried all at the same time. "She threatened you and Jughead." He paused. "She said she's coming over tonight for 'negotiation.'"

"Negotiation?"

"That's what she called it. I don't know." She heard him punch something in the background. "I swear to god, if she even thinks about touching you-"

"FP, FP. Calm down. Listen....meet me at the trailer. Alright? We'll figure this out." She turned the key, starting up her engine. "She wants to negotiate? I don't think she realizes who she's messing with."

"What's that supposed to mean?" FP smiled on the other end.

Alice put the car in drive, leaving her foot on the break for a moment. "You're talking to the woman who convinced Geraldine Grundy to leave town before I got her fired." She took her foot off the break, turning the steering wheel to leave Pop's parking lot. "I'll meet you at home."

"Love you, Ace." FP smirked.

"Love you, too." She hung up and headed home.

Penny Peabody placed another french fry in her mouth as she turned down the street from her tattoo parlor, making her way to Sunnyside Trailer Park. She happily bopped her head along to the song on the radio before reaching in her fast food bag for another fry. She thought of all the things she would say to FP to get him to continue working for her and she grinned, knowing she had him on a tight leash.

She pulled into the trailer park, making her way to the Jones residence when she noticed his truck was not there, but an unfamiliar car sat in the driveway. She smiled even harder, realizing it must be Alice Cooper. She hadn't seen Alice since tenth grade and she remembered how little 16 year old Penny would follow FP and Alice around like a puppy dog. Now she reveled in her transformation as she anticipated her new role in this. Leaving Riverdale to go to college was the best thing that ever happened to Penny and returning to boast about her success satisfied her even more. Now FP and Alice would do things for her the way she did for them in high school.

Getting out of her car, she looked around to make sure she were safe before heading up to the door. She put her hand up to knock, but stopped, looking around again and smiling even bigger when no one came. She knocked on the door as she straightened her posture for the prude, goody-two-shoes, Alice Cooper to open it in her baby blue dress and powerpuff girl pink jacket.

Penny adjusted the sleeves of her Serpent jacket as she awaited the opening of the door. When it did, she froze. Alice Cooper stood before her with a hand on her hip and gum in her mouth. Though she did not see what she had expected. The former Serpent had on black fishnets, a skin-tight short jean skirt with a see-through blouse revealing her black lace bra underneath. Over the blouse she wore a black jacket with spikes on the shoulders. Her lips were painted with dark purple lipstick and her hair had been pinned to one side. Penny stared at her in strange wonder as Alice blew a bubble with her gum.

Mrs. Cooper sighed. "Penny...Peabody. From little freshman scaredy cat to big drug dealing scaredy cat." She stepped aside, waving her black nail polished nails, gesturing for Penny to enter. "Come on in."

Ms. Peabody reluctantly stepped in, looking around the trailer as Alice slammed the door shut behind them. "Wh...where's FP?" Penny wondered.

"He'll be here soon." Alice popped her gum. "Have a seat." She pointed to the kitchen chair that sat suspiciously in the center of the living room. "Go on." Gothic Alice demanded.

Penny, obviously a bit nervous, swallowed hard before obeying. "What's all this shit about?" Penny wondered, realizing none of the lights were on in the trailer.

"What? Are you scared?" Alice asked, following her into the living room when Penny slowly took her seat. Alice chuckled, looking down at her own high heeled black boots. "Of course you are. You're Penny Peabody. You were always afraid, weren't you?"

"Maybe back then, Alice. But I've changed." Penny looked up at her.

"Maybe you've changed a bit on the outside and maybe you've changed the way you perceive things, but you certainly have NOT changed, Penny." Alice stepped in close to the chair, leaning down to bring herself face to face with the other woman. "You're still scared." She noted. "Why else would you have gone to school to be a lawyer? And why would you have come back here...after all of that hard work, just to be one of the only lawyers in this tiny town? It's because you were too scared to go somewhere else, weren't you?" She awaited a response, but she didn't receive one. "And you're scared now. You don't deal drugs because you're brave, Penny. You deal drugs because you don't know what else to do around here. You're not making any money as a lawyer...which is odd because on the Southside....people are in need of more lawyers....but you must not be a very good one if you have to sell drugs to make ends meet." Alice put one of her high heeled boots up on the arm of the chair, leaning in closer to Penny once more. The younger blonde turned to look at Alice's leg before nervously looking back up into her piercing eyes.

Just then, the door opened and both women turned their heads to see FP walking in. The look of shock on his face caused Alice to smirk as she kept her leg up on the chair. "Hello, ladies." He gulped, shocked at Alice's attire. "What's going on in here?"

"Oh, nothing." Alice stood up straight, putting her leg down as she looked over her shoulder at him. "Just a little...what'd you call it, Penny? 'Negotiation?'"

Penny stood up from the chair. "I'm not dealing with this shit. I can get FP thrown right back into prison."

Alice turned back to face her, shoving her down into the chair once again. "I wouldn't push it if I were you, Penny." She walked around the chair, putting her hands on the back of Peabody's shoulders, squeezing them tightly. She leaned down to speak right near Penny's ear. "I can push back even harder."

FP smirked, setting his keys on the kitchen counter before he finally joined them in the living room. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." He shook his head, approaching Penny and kneeling down in front of her. "You see? You put a lot of fear in the Serpents, Pen. But that was back when we had nothing on you. But Alice, here..." He looked up to his woman who winked down at him. "...She was one of the best reporters in Riverdale. She can get the dirt on ANYONE. She even knows shit about Mayor McCoy. Some serious locked away shit." FP pat Penny on the knee before standing as Alice walked around the chair to look down at her beside him.

"I know about you and your old college professor." Alice admitted with her arms crossed.

FP leaned an arm on Alice's shoulder next to him. "And we know about how you cheated on your LSATs."

"I have proof." Alice chewed her gum excessively, feeling alive again.

FP smirked at Alice before leaning over to get right in Penny's face once more. "We can get your attorney license ripped from you at the drop of a hat."

"Don't mess with us anymore, Penny. NOR the Serpents...or we WILL ruin your life." She grabbed FP's arm, pulling him back away from the chair. "And you know we can do it."

"You two have always been the real couple from Hell." Penny said through gritted teeth.

"Do we have a deal?" FP asked with authority in his tone. He reached his hand out to shake hers.

Penny laughed for a moment before taking his hand and he pulled her up and out of the chair before shaking it. "Deal." She glared at them before turning to leave.

"You remember this conversation, babe." Alice told her before she walked out.

Once the door closed, FP turned to look at Alice with his hands over his mouth. "Oh my God, Alice." He looked her up and down, trying his best to ignore his feelings looking at her in those clothes again.

"That was hot." Alice responded with a laugh.

"Do you think it worked?" He asked, finding it hard to concentrate on what the important thing at the moment was.

"It worked." Alice waved off. "That bitch has always been scared of me."

"What is this?" FP finally gestured toward her outfit.

"Do you like it?" She asked, pulling her jacket down, revealing her shoulders. "Makes me feel young again."

"Come here." He said with a laugh, pulling her in for a hot kiss.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and they stopped.


	39. My Full Self Again

Alice licked her lips, looking up into FP's eyes as he brushed her nose with his own before taking her hand in his and turning to answer the door. "Oh. Hey, kids." FP smirked when he saw Penny's car peeling out of the Sunnyside Trailerpark behind Chic and Polly on the top two steps. Polly held Jason in his carseat and Chic held Gemini's.

"Hey, Dad." Chic nodded, widening his eyes with a grin when he saw Alice in her shocking outfit beside him.

"Mom, what are you wearing?" Polly exclaimed, looking her up and down. "Oh my God!"

"Do you like it?" Alice winked at her older daughter, letting go of FP's hand to lean her arm on his shoulder, popping her gum.

Polly slowly nodded. "It's...it's...it's different." She admitted, staring at the fishnets most of all.

"Where's your sister?" Alice wondered, noticing Betty's absence.

"She said she was gonna stay with Dad tonight." Polly responded after FP and Alice stepped aside, letting her and Chic into the trailer.

"Oh." The disappointed sadness in Alice's tone was obvious and FP immediately put a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "Okay." She said, following the two eldest Coopers into the living room. They set the babies' carseats down on the floor in front of the couch before sitting on it.

Alice felt FP move in closer to her from behind as he whispered in her ear. "Do you wanna tell them?" He asked, sliding his hand down her shoulder to hold her hand.

Turning her head slightly over her shoulder, she nodded and looked back to Chic and Polly. "Hey, um...FP and I have something to tell you." She sadly looked down. "I would've loved to tell you when all three of you were here, but..." She sighed, deciding not to finish as her heart broke, missing how close she and Elizabeth used to be. "We, um..." FP wrapped his arms around her stomach from behind her and she couldn't help but smile wide, feeling his touch. "We're getting married." She turned to look at him over her shoulder once more and they gently kissed. "Once the divorce is final, of course. And maybe we'll wait a year for planning and stuff. We don't wanna rush it, but..." She nodded. "...It's finally happening." She swallowed when she noticed Polly's shocked expression. "Now...I know this is such a big change for you, but-"

"I'm so happy for you guys." Chic stood from the sofa, stepping closer to them for a celebration hug.

"Oh. Really?" Alice wondered.

"Yes, of course." Her son smiled, kissing her on the cheek.

"I'm....I'm confused. What's happening to you?" Polly wondered, standing as well, but moving to stand in the center of the living room. "All of a sudden you're dressing like some biker chick?" Her tone was not upset, but more perplexed than anything.

"Polly, please don't be upset-"

"I'm not upset, Mom...I'm not upset." She interrupted. "I'm just....confused."

It was silent for a moment before FP chimed in. "Just so you know, Polly...this isn't really all of a sudden. Your mother used to wear stuff like this all the time." He put a hand around Alice's back.

His fiancee spoke again. "This is really me. The woman you've known your entire life was a more conservative, tucked away version of me. But I can finally be my full self again, Poll...I don't expect you to understand. But I-"

"No, no." Polly looked down at her babies and her tone grew even softer than before. "I do understand. I got to be myself around Jason." She weakly smiled to herself before looking back to the other three. "I am happy for you, too. I see the way you are with him. You were never like that with Dad." She grinned. "I just...." Her eyes fell to her mother's clothes. "Are you joining the Serpents again?"

FP chuckled. "No, she was just-"

"I...." Alice interrupted him. "...might be."

"What?!" FP turned to face her beside him and she did as well. "You're serious?"

"I mean...I've been thinking...if the only way for us to keep Penny Peabody on a tight leash is for me to be around as a threat...then I'm on board." FP smiled, opening his mouth to say something, but she put up a finger to interject. "ONLY....if you put me in charge of the younger Serpents AND you let me choose a new female Gauntlet. And you have to promise me that the Serpents will become the gang that they were intended to be....a family. A 'nonviolent' family."

FP smirked, letting out a puff of air as he slowly shook his head. "Yes, Ma'am."

"That way I'll get to keep an eye on my man. Make sure he doesn't get hurt or WORSE...into trouble." She laughed, winking at FP and he hugged her as they kissed.

"So, what's a Gauntlet?" Chic wondered, looking to all three of them for an answer.

"It's the Serpents Initiation." Alice responded.

"Basically it's a test or a series of tests a person has to go through and pass if they wanna become a part of the gang." FP explained.

Chic smiled at the two of them. "I want in."

Both his parents turned their bodies to face him with awe. "Are you serious?" FP asked.

"Yes, of course. I mean...if both of you are in and so is Jughead...why not me? Right?" He turned to look at Poll. "You should join, too."

"WHAT?!" Both Polly and Alice said in unison.

"Yeah, come on. We could probably get Betty to join. It'd be like a family of Serpents. We could all protect each other. And spend more time together." He looked back to Alice and FP. "All I want is to be around you guys some more."

"You do?" Alice wondered.

The young auto mechanic smiled. "Of course, Mom." Alice's heart jumped. "Why do you think I was at the diner this morning with the girls and Hal, of all people?" Chic asked, wincing at Hal's name. "I only went to see you."

"That's the first time you've ever called me 'Mom.'" She felt tears in her eyes, but she tried her best to hold them back. Chic noticed she was growing emotional and he playfully rolled his eyes, pulling her in for a hug.

"I love you." He said as he held her.

"I love you, too." Alice sniffled before they broke the embrace.

"So, what do you say, Polly?" Chic asked his little sister. "Are you in?"

"Me?" She looked down to the floor, wondering what her decision would be. "A Serpent?" She pictured herself wearing black, changing her hair more, and being tough enough to protect her babies. A large smile grew upon her face as she looked up. "I'm in."

 

* * *

 

_**A/N: Sorry this chapter was kind of lame, but...sadly, we're on to our very last one after this. My depression is slowly coming back, so I don't know if I'll have a new story up too soon after this one. We'll see. If I think of a good enough story, I'll do my best to get working on it, but it may be awhile before my next one. It's actually a good thing this one is ending, because you can probably tell that my depression is even taking over my writing. I really apologize for that. But please keep reviewing and I hope you all have an awesome 2018! MWAH!** _


	40. Spiraling

*Three Weeks Later*

Elizabeth Susan Cooper found herself staring down at her feet as she slowly made her way down the school hall after leaving her last class of the day. Kevin, Archie, Polly, and Veronica walked with her, laughing about something ridiculous Moose had said the day before. Betty heard none of the conversation as her thoughts drowned out any sound at the moment. The weight of her backpack weighed her right shoulder down as she was too tired and lazy to hoist the other strap up onto her left arm. She stopped at her locker, almost forgetting that her sister and friends were still with her.

Opening her locker, she put in textbooks she wouldn’t need for the night whilst Veronica and Kevin went on and on about how much they loved another classmate’s outfit today. As Betty slid the last of her notebooks into the locker, she snapped out of her own little world upon hearing her big brother’s name. “I actually have plans with Chic tonight.” Polly said, causing Betty to drop her notebook. The older Cooper girl turned to her sister’s aid. “You okay, Betty?” Polly wondered.

“Yeah. I’m...I’m fine.” She faked a smile at the group before stuffing the book into her locker and jamming it shut. “You have plans with Chic tonight?” Betty asked, finally speaking up.

“Yeah. I’d ask you to come, but you already have plans.” Polly continued while they all headed for the exit.

“I do?” Elizabeth responded, missing out on pretty much every word of the conversation so far.

“Yeah. Remember? Jug invited us all to that thing?” Veronica widened her eyes at Betty as if urging her to remember the secret get together that night on the Southside.

“Oh.” Betty unknowingly shook her head. “That’s right.”

“What thing is that again?” Kevin wondered, feeling left out suddenly.

“It’s supposed to be top secret. Only a select few were made aware of such a soiree.” Ms. Lodge smirked, loving the feeling of being somewhat important or even thought of.

“And I was not invited?” Kevin said, with a hint of dramatic trauma in his tone. “I’m offended.”

“Well...There’s actually a reason you weren’t-” Archie began, but Veronica stopped him with a slap to the chest. “Ow!” He exclaimed, putting his hand up to hold his sore pec.

“Shhh!” Veronica scolded her boyfriend.

“What? What is it?” Polly asked, curious herself.

It was silent for a moment and then Kevin squinted, getting the picture. “Oh, I get it….It’s because I’m the sheriff’s son, isn’t it?” When no one responded, he sighed with frustration. “Doesn’t anyone remember that I dated a Serpent? Just because I’m the sheriff’s son doesn’t mean I don’t wanna have fun and let loose a little bit too.”

“See. That’s what I said, Kev.” Betty quietly jumped in. “You can come too.”

“Betty.” Veronica slowly whispered, as if to warn her.

“It’s fine, V. It’s Kevin. He’s not gonna tell anyone. Plus, it’s not like we’re gonna be doing anything illegal.” When both Archie and Veronica averted their eyes from her, she panicked inside. “Right, you guys?”

“What? What are we doing?” Kevin asked with excitement.

Veronica looked around to see if any students in the school parking lot could hear them. After a group of freshmen walked by, she lowered her tone. “There’s talk that there MAY be Jingle Jangle.”

“What’s that?” Elizabeth wondered.

“‘What’s that?!’” Kevin repeated. “It’s only the most popular drug on the Southside nowadays.”

“Wwwhat?!” Betty turned her gaze to disappointedly glare at Veronica.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. You don’t have to do any.” V replied.

“Yeah. We’ll probably need someone with a sound mind around anyway just in case.” Archie added.

“I am SO in!” Kevin grinned from ear to ear.

“I don’t wanna have that responsibility on my shoulders.” Betty shook her head.

“No, no. Don’t worry, Betty.” Polly jumped in. “Jingle Jangle boosts energy and sex drive. That’s pretty much it along with lack of sleep. You won’t have to worry about people getting sick or anything.”

“Great.” Elizabeth said in a sarcastic tone.

“And how is it that Ms. Polly Cooper knows so much about said drug?” Veronica wondered, a bit impressed actually.

“Oh...I just...overhear kids talking about it.” Polly quickly cleared her throat and headed for the sidewalk that would lead to her father’s house.

The rest of the gang stayed behind for a moment, staring at her as she left with awe. Finally, they all shook their heads and followed to go on to their own homes.

Eventually, Betty and Polly walked alone as Archie went to Veronica’s house after school almost everyday now. Most of the walk home was silent until Polly lost the fight with herself to keep quiet. “Are you okay, Betty?” Her little sister opened her mouth to answer, but she stopped her, continuing to speak right away. “And I don’t wanna hear about how you’re doing fine, because I know that you’re not. You haven’t been yourself since….everything happened with Mom and Dad. It’s me, Betty. You can talk to me.”

The youngest Cooper tilted her head to the side as she stared down at the cement below her, crossing her arms over her chest and pressing her lips together. “I...I don’t know, Poll. I honestly don’t. Usually I don’t mind change, but….everything happened all at once. It...It was TOO MUCH to change in such a short amount of time. You had babies….Jug and I broke up...We found out that our brother is actually just our half-brother and that Jughead’s dad is his ‘other half.’ Then Mom and Dad get divorced and she’s already engaged to my ex boyfriend’s dad? It’s just...I can’t even process it. I’ve literally had no time, Polly. What else is gonna change? Am I gonna find out that you’re moving in with Mom and FP for good or something? Will Dad start dating Mrs. Andrews?”

“Betty.” Polly couldn’t help but giggle.

“No. I’m serious, Poll. Pretty soon we’re probably gonna find out that we’re also related to the Kellers or something or we’ll find out about how Great Grandpappy Cooper was a criminal or something like that. It’s bound to happen. Our lives just keep spiraling and spiraling and what’s worse is that I have no control over it. There’s nothing I can do to even feel safer. I just...I’m confused, Polly. Our life doesn’t seem real anymore. I feel like we’re trapped in some insecure author’s story where writing so much drama in one person’s life is their strange coping mechanism.” She stopped for a moment, realizing she sounded a bit off her rocker. “That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Does that sound crazy to you?”

“No. Not entirely.” Polly admitted, oddly feeling the same way. “Are you sure you wanna go to this bonfire thing with Jughead tonight? You haven’t really seen him since Mom announced the engagement a few weeks ago, right?”

“Yeah. But I mean...it’s whatever. I can’t hide from him forever. He’s gonna be our stepbrother within the next year.” She finally took her eyes off of her feet and stared down the sidewalk ahead of her. “How effed up is that?” She painfully chuckled to herself. “My ex boyfriend...is going to be our step brother.” She laughed, putting a hand to her forehead.

“Yeah.” Polly felt bad as she watched her little sister walk on with a shake of her head. “Do you miss him?”

Young Coop let out a ridiculous chortle. “What does it matter? All he cares about is being a Serpent and doing whatever makes FP happy.” She looked to Polly beside her and sighed. “From now on, I’m not even gonna focus on boys. I tried too hard with Archie and failed. Jughead couldn’t even put my happiness first, which that’s fine. I don’t expect him to. We’re only in high school. But I would’ve loved it if he at least took my opinion into consideration which he did not. So, from now on, I’m just gonna focus on school and college and getting out of here. I’m not gonna be like Mom.”

“Betty.” Polly now tilted her head to the side with pity and judgment. “You need to talk to her.”

“Why?”

“Because she loves you.” Poll responded immediately. “She constantly asks about you.”

“Well...now she has her precious Chic and FP and her grandbabies. She doesn’t need me….nor Dad apparently.”

“Stop that.” Polly stopped walking and after a few more steps, so did Betty. The youngest turned to face her older sister as she spoke a bit more firmly. “She and Dad were never happy and you know that. You’ve seen her with FP, Elizabeth.”

“Don’t call me that-”

“It’s like Mom’s entire world was made when she got back together with him.” She instantly thought of Jason and fought back surfacing tears. “Except you ripped it from her by refusing to talk to her.”

“What about what she did to you, Poll?!” Betty raised her voice. “What about the Sisters and trying to put the babies up for adoption?!”

“She was right!” Polly yelled back and it grew silent. They stared at each other in shock for a moment before Polly let out something she had been holding in for months. “She was right.” She repeated, lowering her voice. “Okay? Let’s face it….I was NOT ready to be a mother and now I suck at it.”

“Poll, you don’t suck.”

“I am exhausted!” The eldest sister wanted to cry, but she did all she could not to. ”My grades are awful. I fight and fight to stay awake in class and when I have homework, I can’t get two problems done without one of the twins being hungry or tired or needing a diaper change or just crying because they miss me. Betty, Mom was right. I know that she deeply regrets giving up Chic. But at least she has time with him now and she didn't have to go through what I’ve been going through since the babies were born.” She paused, waiting for Betty to say something, but she never did. “I know that what Mom says or does sometimes may be questionable or really irritating to you….but it turns out...she’s right.” Her voice grew weaker. “She’s right.” The next thing she was going to say, she knew would force tears to fall, but she didn’t care. She needed Betty to understand. “Betty, I miss Jason so much.” And there were the tears. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye to him or let him know how much I loved him. You have no idea how that feels.” Wiping away a tear, she took in a deep breath. “We were together for four months, Betty….That’s it. Four. But I loved him. Mom has been in your life for 16 years. And she has done nothing but loved us more than anyone else has.” Polly shook her head when she saw the tears finally fall down Betty’s eyes as well. “You don’t wanna lose her without telling her how much you love her. Because you’ll regret it. You really will. Just like I do every minute with Jason.”

Elizabeth looked back down to the sidewalk beneath her feet and she shook her head, wiping away her tears. Without a word, Betty turned back around to finish heading home. Once her baby sister turned her back toward her, Polly put both hands up to her own head, taking in another deep breath before eventually following Betty to Hal’s house.


	41. Ruse

Later on that night, Betty forced herself to get ready for the bonfire. She stared at herself in the mirror, replaying Polly’s words in her head. When she held her hair up in a ponytail, she shook her head and dropped her golden locks. She had no more effort. She gave her hair a shake and left the house the moment Chic showed up to pick up Polly for whatever plans they had. When Chic smiled at Betty stepping down the porch, she sent him a weak grin before leaving in Moose’s car with Midge, Veronica, Kevin, and Archie.

On the other side of Riverdale’s train tracks, Moose’s car came to a halt in the middle of the forest where smoke could be seen miles away. The bonfire wasn’t too large but it was big enough to keep everyone present warm. Slowly stepping out of the car, Elizabeth felt uncomfortable as she noticed the dozens of kids her age present were obviously already high off the Jingle Jangle. Several kids danced around the fire, pretending to be Native Americans while others were making out or singing pretty loudly. She held onto the open car door while Moose, Midge, Archie, Kevin, and Veronica made their way to the very large group of underage teens.

Immediately, Betty wished for a driver’s license so she could hop into Moose’s driver’s seat and leave them to go get the police or something. She took her cell phone out of her pocket, looking down at it in the attempt to dial 9-1-1. She didn’t dial nor did she try to leave. She didn’t want to be the snitch nor the irresponsible, sober teen who left her friends alone in such a vulnerable, dangerous position. Placing her phone back into her pocket, she sighed, finally shutting the car door and heading over to sit around the fire.

About an hour passed and she spent most of the time watching Archie and the gang make complete fools of themselves or trying her best to stay awake. Her hands remained inside her coat pockets while she enjoyed the warmth from the fire in front of her. Sometimes she found herself staring into the flames, wondering how it would feel if she were to jump into them. Suddenly, she remembered something….Jughead had invited them...but where was he?

She looked around at every face present. Most were people she hadn’t seen much of in the past as the majority of them were Southsiders. Many of which wore their Serpent jackets, confirming that Jug must be there somewhere. She strained her neck to see around the bright burning flames, wondering if her ex was on the other side. No sign of him.

“Hey! Betty!” Veronica knelt down beside her best friend, clearly affected by the JJ. “Are you sure you don’t wanna try some of this?” She stuck the drug-filled straw in Betty’s face. “I feel so great!” Veronica stood up and danced in a circle around Elizabeth. “Woooo!” She cheered, putting some more of the drug in her mouth. Soon, they were joined by Archie and V instantly wrapped her hands around his neck, passionately kissing him.

“Get a room.” Betty said under her breath, knowing it was a bit pointless to even suggest. Her eyes fell to other couples around her and she couldn’t help but roll them in annoyance. “Hey...when can we leave?” She said as Moose and Midge ran over, both almost tripping over the other person with laughter.

“Let’s NEVER leave!” Kevin said with intensity in his voice as if he had an obsession with this particular get together.

“They’re here!” One of the Serpents shouted as a car slowly pulled up.

“Who’s here?” Betty, the sober one, asked with an inside voice while everyone else around her shouted.

“Heyyyyyyy, Jughead!” A new voice yelled when the passenger side door opened.

Betty strained her eyes to see the car far off in the dark distance. Finally, her eyes adjusted and she saw the familiar car. Her posture fell lazy when she remembered whose car it was. Sweet Pea’s and with them...Toni, climbing out of the back seat. She rolled her eyes to look away, but soon, she fixed her eyes upon two other figures in the car, struggling to slide out.

A sex-crazed high teen sent a cat-calling whistle to Toni as she, Jug, and Sweet Pea moved closer to the fire where they could visibly see her rolling her eyes. It wasn’t long before the other two passengers made their way out of the vehicle and joined Jughead. Betty blinked hard as she swore her eyes deceived her. They didn’t.

“Polly! Chic! So glad you five finally showed up!” One of the teen girls said, dancing on over to them. “It was you who planned this little party, wasn’t it?”

Elizabeth stood up from the log she sat on and she moved closer to the five newcomers, getting a better look at her big brother and sister, in all black clothes. Her eyes remained on Polly the longest, however, as she had never seen her in dark colors before. Nor with her hair in such a messy, punk-like ponytail before. She wore black tights under a pair of very short jean shorts with a dark gray t-shirt under a leather jacket. Chic wore a simple black tee with jeans and a leather jacket as well. Betty gulped, wondering if this were all a terrible dream.

“Who wants the first bite?” Another teen girl stepped up to them with five Jingle Jangle straws in her hand, ready to hand them out.

“Party’s over!” Jughead yelled in front of the other four with his hands in his coat pockets.

“What?!” Several kids shouted.

“What do you mean it’s over, Jug? The party just started now that you’re here!” High Archie giggled, slapping Veronica’s butt.

Betty’s eyes widened again as she had never seen Archie so provocative before. She was beginning to get a headache from all of the yelling and shocking news, reveals, and events. And to top it all off….BOTH her brother and sister were here?

“Okay. What the hell is happening?” She finally said, causing all five arrivals to turn to see her.

“Betty!” Jughead’s mood changed immediately.

“Ummm...do any of you wanna tell me what’s going on here?” She put her hands on her hips with authority.

“Uhhh...we didn’t think that you’d actually come.” Jug whispered.

“I told you guys she was planning on it this afternoon.” Polly said, stepping back and sitting on the hood of the first car behind her.

“Are you gonna answer my question?” Betty demanded. “What is going on?” She watched Polly prop her foot up on the hood of the vehicle, bringing her right knee up to her chest and Betty saw it. Her big sister’s ankle...just above the boot, was a Serpent tattoo. Betty opened her mouth to scold both Polly and Chic when another vehicle made its way into the middle of the forest. Its headlights blinded Elizabeth as she looked away, seeing many of the teens begin to grow concerned and anxious.

“Like I said…” Juggy continued. “Party’s over!” He said with anger, staring each teenager down with disappointment.

Suddenly, the high strung teens seemed a bit more sober and Betty watched each of them stir and begin to whisper to each other while the new vehicle’s headlights shut off. Once the motor was silenced, Betty could hear some of the whispering around her.

“It’s them.” Came from one voice.

“Shit!” From another.

“We’re fucked!” Said someone nearer to her.

Betty turned to try and see who the owner of the new vehicle was, but she failed as her eyes were still blinded from the high beams. She heard a car door shut when Chic finally spoke to the entire crowd. “Good evening, girls and boys! Yes! We are the ones who invited you all to this little bash! Only...this was not a REAL party.” He chuckled, stepping in front of his half-brother and pacing while he continued. “We called many of you teens from around Riverdale...both Northsiders AND Southsiders...to see which of you would find pleasure in heinous activities such as the use of drugs.” He stopped pacing, shaking his head. “Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.”

“We are disappointed in all of you.” Polly spoke up from the hood of the stranger’s car. She played with a little wad of her ponytail before giving it a dramatic flip and hopping off of the car. She made her way to the front with Chic and Jughead, resting a hand on her hip as everyone quieted down, listening to approaching footsteps.

“Things are gonna start changing around here!” Came the familiar voice as it grew closer. Betty watched FP make his way passed Toni and Sweet Pea, then passed Jughead, Polly, and Chic. “From now on, there will be no use of or dealings with drugs of any kind. That especially goes for you, Serpents!” He pointed to a clump of the teens who looked the most terrified. “And I mean that goes for ALL of Riverdale. Northside and Southside.” He looked right at Archie before walking backwards to stand beside Chic.

Betty nervously bit her lower lip when FP made eye contact with her and she prayed that he wouldn’t think she did Jingle Jangle or that he would tell her mom that she were even there. Her prayer was interrupted by the sound of another car door closing. Whispers started up again around her and Betty strained her ears to hear what they all said. Finally, from a teen just behind her, she made out two words…..”It’s her.” Almost in slow motion, Betty saw her….Her mother.

Alice made her way through the grass flawlessly, even in heels. Her legs were bare, feeling the night’s slight chill in the air as the jean skirt she wore covered her thighs just enough to keep them warm. The former journalist left her belly button slightly exposed under the serpent-green crop top she wore beneath her leather jacket. Betty’s jaw dropped upon seeing her infamously conservative mother with dark green lipstick on with her hair all pinned to one side. To top it off, she wore large hoop earrings and a necklace long enough to catch your eye, letting it fall to look at her slightly exposed breasts. Elizabeth Cooper almost fainted.


	42. The Future Mrs. Jones

Alice made her way to the front of the other six and she moved her eyes across the entire open section of the forest. Her gaze began on the left side, slowly making its way to the right side, where she would see Betty last. Once her eye met her youngest daughter’s, whom she hadn’t seen in weeks, she froze for a moment, realizing what her weakness was. It was Betty. She swallowed her pain when FP spoke behind her. “What’s the verdict, Ace?” He asked as he leaned back against the front vehicle.

Forcing herself to look away from Betty, Alice looked back at the other 30 or so teens and she responded. “Everybody go home. Punishments will be dealt with in the morning.” She turned and headed back to FP’s truck without a word.

“Well?” FP started. “You heard the woman. Out!” He demanded and every teen scrambled for their vehicles.

“Wait, wait.” Betty said to the friends she arrived with. They obeyed and she went over to Chic and Polly. “What the hell, you guys?! You’re Serpents now?! And what?! Mom is now the Serpent Queen or something?!” Neither of them answered. “When were you gonna tell me this?”

“We, um….” Chic began.

“Betty, we weren’t sure what your reaction would be or if you’d consider-”

“Consider what, Polly? Joining the gang with you?” She waited for a ridiculous ‘no’ to follow, but it never did and she scoffed. “Are you serious?” She glared at them before turning to look at Archie and Veronica. “Let’s go, guys.”

Just when Betty, Archie, Kevin, Veronica, Moose, and Midge started for Moose’s car, the sound of a police siren approached. “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my DAD! Oh my God!” Kevin said, hysterically hoping to quickly find a hiding spot. He failed and mentally prepared himself for his father’s legal AND paternal wrath.

Betty panicked inside as well, for a plethora of reasons, but she watched in awe as her mother looked to the Sheriff’s car before being able to get in the truck. She had one foot on the step to get in and she dropped it immediately upon Sheriff Keller’s arrival. Shutting the door to FP’s truck, Alice confidently made her way toward the chaos she expected to ensue. Mayor McCoy quickly stepped out of the passenger side, instantly yelling out orders at all of the teens and threatening to take names and dial parents’ numbers.

“Hello, Sierra.” Alice said with a smug smile, folding her hands in front of her when she came face to face with the agitated mayor.

“That’s Mayor McCoy to you, Alice Cooper….or should I say...Alice Smith now?” Sierra folded her arms over her chest when she approached Alice with conviction.

“Actually…” Alice smiled even harder. “...it’ll soon be Alice Jones.” Almost as if it were his cue, FP made his way over to the two women and Sheriff Keller joined them as well.

“Well, congratulations.” Mayor McCoy said insincerely. She glared at FP for half a second before returning her gaze to Alice.

“And I guess I should say congrats to you two as well.” Betty’s mom smirked when they had no clue what she meant. “Soon it will be Mayor Keller, no?” Both Kevin’s dad and Josie’s mom let their jaws drop. “Oh yeah. I know about you two.” Alice straightened her posture, realizing her guess was right based on their reactions.

“What does she mean by that?” Veronica whispered to Betty, who panic-strickenly searched for Kevin. Thankfully, he had run and hid in the back seat of Moose’s car, so he was missing this hard-to-hear news. Betty did not want Kevin to go through what she did with FP, her mom, and her dad.

“Shhh.” Betty said to V, hoping the drugs would make her forget in the morning.

“What the hell has been going on here tonight, Alice?” Sheriff Tom Keller finally broke the silence between the four of them. “We got some calls with noise complaints and concerns that there was underage illegal activity going down here.”

“‘Underage illegal act-?’” Alice laughed at him. “Who talks like that?” FP laughed with her and she spoke again. “No, Tom.”

“Sheriff Keller.” Tom interrupted.

“‘Sheriff Keller.’” The future Mrs. Jones corrected with an attitude. “No, there was no underage activity going on here. This was just a bunch of kids, trying to have some fun. They were playing some games and it got too loud, that’s all.”

“We were here the whole time, Sheriff.” FP lied as well. “We kept a close eye on them. Nobody got hurt, no one did anything illegal.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know if my son were here, would you? He said he was out with Moose and Archie tonight. But even Diane and Fred have no clue where Moose or Archie are.” He rested his hands on his hips, looking around at the nervous teens standing by their cars.

Betty turned to whisper something to Veronica, but V, Archie, and Moose had already ducked behind a car so Kevin’s dad wouldn’t spot them.

“Nope. I’m sorry.” FP lied again. “Haven’t seen any of ‘em.”

“Alright, well...no more bonfires this late at night, Morticia and Gomez Addams.” Sierra said, receiving a death stare from Alice before she and Sheriff Keller turned to get back into the cop car, driving off.

The atmosphere in the area changed almost immediately. Everyone let out a breath they had been holding in together and they all hopped in their cars to leave, but not before they all nervously looked back at FP and Alice who sent them looks of warning and they cleared the area.

Only Sweet Pea’s, FP’s, and Moose’s vehicles were left as FP, Chic, and Jughead tried their best to put out the fire. Alice was heading back to the truck when Betty nervously approached her. “Umm...that was...that was really good of you...to cover for everyone like that.”

Hearing her daughter’s voice almost brought tears to Alice’s eyes, but she hid it well, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow at her recently absent daughter. “Hello, Elizabeth.” She said with a pragmatic tone. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just….I didn’t know there’d be drugs here, Mom.” She instantly did her best to flip the matter around onto her Serpent Queen mother. “I certainly didn’t know there’d be so many gang members here...Let alone so many gang members by the name of Cooper…..What are you doing, Mom? You’re a Serpent now? You’ve got them being Serpents now? Chic, fine...I can kind of understand that. But Polly? Polly would never wanna be a Serpent. How did you manipulate her into-”

“MANIPULATE her?????” Alice interrupted. “I didn’t make her do ANYTHING! She CHOSE to be a Serpent to protect her children.”

“What? You said it yourself that the Serpents are dangerous criminals and leaving them was the best thing that ever happened to you!” Betty raised her voice.

“Again! I NEVER said that it was the best thing that ever happened to me. And that’s beside the point, because that was back then. The Serpents are different now, because FP-”

“Oh, FP...FP...FP. Is EVERYTHING about FP, Mom?” Finally, her voice grew so loud that the others turned to watch and listen.

“Well, he’s my family and everything is about my family. So yes! Everything is about FP, Betty. Just like everything is about you...and Chic….and Polly. And even the Serpents are my family now.”

Betty sarcastically nodded. “Great....Great. I grew up with you telling me all these horrible things about the Serpents and the Southside and how I should never stoop so low as to join a gang and you literally tried with all your might to break me and Jughead up, because you were afraid I’d join the Serpents and now I’m the ONLY one in the family who’s NOT a Serpent? And all because of FP? Wow, Mom. Wow.” She turned to leave, but Alice quickly grabbed her arm.

“No, no. Baby, wait. I’m sorry. Okay...You’re right. You’re right. But believe me when I say that things will be different. Things will be better now. You’ll see. Just...come be with us. We’re making things better on the Southside. We’re making a change. You can be a part of that change.” She said, sending her youngest a hopeful smile as she awaited an answer.

“I love you, Mom...but I don’t wanna be a part of it.” She turned to look at Archie and Veronica near Moose’s car. “Come on, guys.”

“Betty, wait!” Polly ran up to her little sister. “Don’t go.”

“No, Polly...She’s brainwashed you.”

“What about everything I said earlier today, Betty? Did you not get any of it?” Polly asked with anger. “You said you wanted to be able to control the things happening in your own life…….Join the Serpents, Betty. You’ll have control and you-” She stopped, wanting to say more, but she realized Betty’s stubbornness would tire her and she could see in her little sister’s eyes that she had no interest in hearing more about it, so she quickly gave up and she softened her tone. “Just, remember what I said. Alright?”

With that, Betty left with her friends, but without a word.

The End.

 

* * *

 

_**A/N: Man! Wow! Okay, I’m expecting hate from this ending, but first let me explain. I had been planning this ending out for months. Everyone kind of expected Betty to join the Serpents with Jughead on the show, so I loved the plot twist that she ends up being the only one who DOESN’T join. I know it may not resonate with everyone, but I’m sorry. When I have a creative idea come to me...I just have to write it the way I envisioned it. I also really loved the idea that Polly joined the Serpents, because she’s kind of one of the last people you’d expect to become one. Haha And her joining to become a tough Mama and to follow more after Alice’s footsteps really made me proud. Especially since in the show we haven’t seen much of Alice and Polly. I hate it, because you can tell Alice just adores Poll and Polly kinda seems like she doesn’t care too much for her mom which saddens me. So in this, I just love the idea of Alice suddenly becoming a role model for Polly and for Polly to admit that young motherhood is not exactly going to be easy, which in the show, she’s a bit naive in thinking she’s gonna be perfectly fine...which, let’s face it, without Alice’s help with the twins….she will NOT be. Anyway….I really hope you love the last few chapters. I know I said it was gonna be one last chapter, but it ended up being super long. Hahaha Once I started writing I just couldn’t stop and I really appreciated all of your comments about my depression last week. It really meant a lot and as you can see, it inspired me to keep going. You’re all the best. I love you all and I’ll try my best to think up a new Falice fic soon. MWAH!** _


End file.
